Exo Saves The Day, Chapter 32 (climax)

[gynoneko]

The epic climax is here. I sure hope you all enjoy this. I've spent a lot of time writing and re-writing this one, making sure it is just right. I hope I didn't miss anything. There will be one more chapter, so I hope you look forward to it. Feedback is of course welcome as always!

1) How did you like this chapter versus the last one? Which is your favorite in the whole story so far?
2) Are there too many details / not enough? Do they balance well?
3) Are there any questions you have about the story, characters, etc? (any at all, I might not answer if it involves the story, but it might clarify things I need to define more)
4) Out of the entire story, what is your favorite part so far? What is your least favorite part?
5) Is there any part of my writing that distracts you?
6) Who is your favorite character?


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Chapter 1. Chapter 2. Chapter 3. Chapter 4.
Chapter 5. Chapter 6. Chapter 7. Chapter 8.
Chapter 9. Chapter 10. Chapter 11. Chapter 12.
Chapter 13. Chapter 14. Chapter 15. Chapter 16.
Chapter 17. Chapter 18. Chapter 19. Chapter 20.
Chapter 21. Chapter 22. Chapter 23. Chapter 24.
Chapter 25. Chapter 26. Chapter 27. Chapter 28.
Chapter 29. Chapter 30. Chapter 31.

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Exo Saves the Day
Chapter Thirty Two: Borrowed Heart
By Gynoneko


"Rob? They told me you were dead..." I said looking at the frail young man.

"Rumors of my death had been greatly exaggerated" he said, repeating Mark Twain's famous quote word-for-word in his raspy voice. "I can't help it if those two fools never looked in the wreckage of that car crash. Had they, I'm sure they would have found my original remote unit. Then again, packing the thing with blood and animal parts probably convinced them they didn't need to look any closer. Liberati's men were supposed to take the robot, but it wandered off before they could get to it. Bad luck I suppose, and of course Liberati himself was a brainless thug who almost destroyed what I needed with his reckless behavior... but now that's he's been dealt with, all that's left is you." He reached down to a drawer in a nearby side table, and slowly pulled out a pistol. "I don't know how you got out of that onslaught I sent your way. Put the android down."

The gun pointed directly at us, and Tera held on tighter than ever. "Rob! Why?" she asked. "Why me? What did I ever do to you?"

"Ha!" he laughed in a cold voice. "It's not what you've done, you stupid machine. It's what you didn't do and what you are capable of that I need."

"What?" I asked. He shot an angry look at me as though I interrupted him.

"263 has never prostrated itself to the military brass that once rejected the other 260 series units, so they don't know what it looks like. That means they wouldn't recognize it if they saw it."

"What do you want from her?" I asked, holding her tightly.

"263 was designed for Espionage, Mr. Hawthorn. It is the only model with sleep-level technologies that allows it to easily integrate into different corporations, organizations, even governments. It has the ability to steal data, plant information, even blackmail. With its advanced hacking system, it is capable of taking out potential threats, avoiding security, even hacking government computers without anyone the wiser. 263 is the perfect spy machine, more powerful than any of its 'sister' units. By itself, it can take out an entire countries defense or infrastructure without compromising its position. It can defeat armies with a single thought while the other units would struggle to defeat a single enemy."

That was a terrifying thought. Tera was really a weapon after all, a weapon for the new age. No longer were guns, knives, even tanks and aircraft needed to fight a war. All she needed to do was take out a country's communications, and a war would end without any causalities at all. Tera trembled at the idea, or perhaps it was her injury getting to her.

"So that's your plan? Infiltrate the government and take over the country?"

"Take over the-? What are you crazy? I love this country! I love my family. I-" he stopped, lowering his gun a bit, in deep thought. "Did you ever hear the name Lt. Jeremy Hutchins?" The name didn't seem familiar to me, but he didn't wait for a response. "The first American soldier to die in the North Korean war was Lt. Jeremy Hutchins, he was my brother. He never needed to die, not with the technology we had, and the information we knew. But they sent him in all the same. I dedicated my life's work to building a solution to that problem. My RCUs are that solution. I even used my brother's likeness on 2 of them, which you destroyed! No matter, I can rebuild them. Of course, now that the military rejected my Remote Combat Units I don't have the resources to right now. Those bastards kept saying they were too dangerous, that they were too easily hacked. None of my models have EVER been hacked!

"Damn MMR! I slaved away at that shithole company for 10 years, and as soon as my project hit any resistance, they scrapped the whole thing and assigned me to the robotics division under those Pygmalion idiots. I don't care how advanced they make them; robots will NEVER replace humans... on or off the battlefield! Of course I made sure the military knew that the 260 series could disobey orders, and predictably they dropped them just as fast as my RCUs. Of course now they're looking at exo-skeleton technology. Those fools are going to put the soldiers right back in harm’s way. No matter though, with 263 I can change all that."

"So this is about revenge?" I asked.

"If only the world were that simple" he said, waving the gun around.

"I- I’ll never help you!" Tera stuttered, the pain from her torturous treatment getting to her.

"You won't have a choice, not when I'm done with you" he sneered. "Just like your 'sister', I will break you, or at least your free will, if that's what you want to call it."

I caught a glimpse of 262 standing obediently by the door. She flinched when Rob mentioned her, as though he said something embarrassing about her. No wonder she didn't need to wear a collar like Annie, Rob had broken her systems, damaged her free will, the only thing that made the 260 line a threat in the first place. It would be far more difficult for her to disobey his orders now, but something told me his control over her was not absolute.

"What happened to you? You used to be so nice!" Tera said timidly.

"Nothing happened to me! I did what I had to do" he barked back at her.

"You'll never get that contract again" I retorted. "Even if you somehow fool the military into using RCUs, they'll never use your designs. MMR-"

"I don't give a damn whose design they use" he interrupted. "It would have been nice, but I'll benefit from it no matter what."

"What are you talking about?" I asked. I feared he was one of those fanatics with big ideas that thought they could change the world with foolish ideals like peace and love.

"Patents, Mr. Hawthorn. Patents. I own the patents to all the RCU technology. Even those cyber-dolls that don't sell well are using my technology to work. I've dedicated my life to developing this technology and I am not about to let some big name corporation take the credit. If anyone wants to build anything like an RCU, they have to pay me first. Did you really think I could live in a house this nice with what a technician at MMR makes?"

Of course, it was all about money! His brother's sob story was really just a means to an end, but for him that end meant lots of money. Of course, with all patents of early technology, as soon as someone else develops a technology or method that circumvents his own patent, they could get around paying him anything, and apply for a new patent. It was a tough game to play, and it meant he had a limited time in which he could profit from his designs before someone else designed their technology differently. And I would bet that someone else out there was already working on it.

"So that's what this is all about? Money?" I stalled for time.

"Of course! Isn't that what everything is about? And of course, serving my country." he added.

"And how does kidnapping and torturing Tera fit into this?"

"Haven't you been listening? I have enough connections; I can get 263 into a position at the pentagon. No one will realize it isn't a real person, and then it will have ample access to the military's systems. All I need is for it to steal the data I need, and plant false data showing the dangers of the exoskeleton technology. I can then use 263 to blackmail them into rejecting that technology and moving forward with RCU tech. And the best part is that they will never even know that their lowly employee was actually responsible for it all, and I could use it again and again for whatever purpose I need. Even if they do catch the robot, they could never link it to me."

"Stop calling me an 'it'!" Tera screamed. Rob's face grew fierce. He glared at Tera; his body shaking slightly. I wasn't sure if it was from anger or his weakened state.

"But you ARE just an 'IT'! You are only a toy; a tool! You were designed for us to use, and throw way! I've used robots and technology all my life just to move around! I was born dying, but I defied all odds, and stayed alive. I could only do this by using tools like you to achieve what I needed to. And once that technology is obsolete, I throw it out. Just like I'm going to do with you when something better comes around!"

Rob had started ranting about how superior he was to lowly robots, even though he relied on them every day. I'd seen this type of thing before. Someone so utterly surrounded by technology, that they lose all respect for it. He was surrounded by robots his whole life, and so lost all awe and respect for them. I, on the other hand, was fascinated with robots. I chose to surround myself with them, even going so far as fixing them up and modifying them for a living. It was odd how the two of us took such different approaches to robots.

"SHE is more than just a machine to me!" I said, cutting him off. "Tera is my friend; she's my responsibility; she's my companion. Tera is my girlfriend, my lover, and she is deserving of my respect, and love." Tera looked up at me with awe in her eyes. I knew what I was saying was controversial, but Tera, and a handful of other robots out there, were the first in a new race, a mechanical race of sentient beings. She felt emotions, she felt pain and pleasure, and she could tell right from wrong. She relied on humans and technology to survive, but Tera and her sisters were alive in their own way, and I was going to stand by that, and protect them.

Rob looked at me with dark eyes, his look losing all emotion and patience. "Then you are a bigger fool than I thought." Rob straightened his stance as best as he could, and pointed his gun at me. "No more distractions Daniel. Put down the robot."

"You won't shoot me, you'd hit Tera. If you need her so bad, why would you shoot her?"

"I can repair the robot, but you are a different matter entirely" he retorted.

"If you could repair her, then you would have shot me already." I knew what I was talking about. Repairing skin torn off a robot's arm was Childs play, especially with the workstation he had in his basement, which would do all the work for him. But to repair a bullet wound required a lot more technical work. "I'm sure you're good at robotics and all, but only Tom and Cynthia could repair Tera's advanced systems. You'd need one of them, and they would never help you."

Rob looked furious. The gun in his hand waivered, shaking back and forth with the anger in his face. However, he didn't shoot. Tera held on as tight as ever, her eyes locked onto his. It appeared to be a standstill, but I was unfortunately outnumbered. "262! Take the android from him!" Rob commanded.

"But-" the red-headed gynoid pleaded.

"NOW!" he roared.

She flinched, and walked toward me slowly. I tried to back away, but there wasn't anywhere for me to go. Slowly, but surely, 262 approached me, and reached out her hands toward us.

"N-No! Don't touch me!" Tera yelled.

"Hurry up!" Rob ordered, keeping his gun pointed at me.

"Danny! Don't let her take me!" Tera begged. I held onto her tightly, but what could I do. I didn't want to see her get hurt, and I was still in pain and weakened from my last encounter with 262. She could easily overpower me now if she wanted to. I didn't know what to do, except let her take Tera.

"NO!" Tera yelled. "DANNY!" she struggled as she tried to stay with me, clinging to my coat. I still couldn't let go, but 262 had already put her arms around Tera, and was starting to pull her away from me.

"I- I'm so sorry" 262 whispered. "Please Danny" she pleaded. The look in her eyes had somehow changed. She was no longer the sadistic killing machine I had seen at the night club. Something inside her changed; she doubted herself. She looked sad, even remorseful. Before I realized it, she had taken Tera away from me, and carried her out of the way, placing her on the floor against the wall.

"Danny! Please! Don't hurt him" Tera cried, struggling to get to her feet. She was weak, and exhausted. 262 easily held her back.

I realized that now that my arms were free from the strain of carrying Tera, I could reach for the gun still hidden inside my pocket. The only problem was, Rob had his gun pointed at me already, and any kind of move I could make for it would get me shot! Then again, Rob was not able to hold the gun steady, and he was more likely to hit my armor if he shot. And at this rate, he'd shoot me before I would have a chance to defend myself.

I decided to risk it, and reached for my gun.

As I predicted, Rob shot first, and luckily it hit my Zylon vest. However, he was closer to hitting my neck than I would have liked, and eventually he would manage to hit my head or leg or arm. I barely felt the gunshot, but I knew it was too close for comfort. Instinctually, I dove for cover, rolling along the ground toward one of the RCU charging ports on the opposite wall from Tera. As much as I wanted to grab her and run, 262 was still holding her back, and I wanted to keep his gunfire away from her. I did notice in the confusion that 262 seemed to be trying to protect Tera, keeping her covered.

I kept close to the side of the terminal, using it as cover, while I reached for my gun. Of course, I realized too late that my pocket was empty! A ray of moonlight reflected off my gun lying in the middle of the room; I figured it fell out of my pocket as I tumbled across the floor. I was now 5 feet away from my only weapon, and trapped in a corner with a madman already shooting at me! Could things get any better?

I moved to dart out of my hiding place toward my gun. I needed to get in a better position, somewhere where I could get my gun and get a clear shot. Before I could even take a step out of my hiding place, his gun went off again. The shot went wide, ricocheting off the side of the empty charge port above my head. Quickly, I pushed myself back into the corner. I wasn't very good at this whole getting-shot-at thing. But I was sure tired of it already.

"I see you forgot something Mr. Hawthorn." His raspy voice was getting on my nerves now. "262, take his gun."

I watched as his reluctant robot held Tera tightly, easily overcoming her constant struggles to get free, as she walked toward me. With a kick, she slid my gun toward the giant window behind Rob, well out of my reach, and made her way back to where she was before. I could tell Rob was not able to move well enough himself, and was pretty much stuck near his bed, too weak to really walk anywhere, let alone lean down and grab a gun while keeping his aimed at me. In a fair fight, I could take him with no problem. Too bad this wasn't a fair fight.

"Good. Finally you are listening to me" Rob commented to 262. "Now, take that robot down stairs and tie it back up. I will finish breaking it tonight, right after I finish with this!" He paused a moment, as though considering something. "No... I need something. When you finish with it down stairs, come up and help me with my... exo mark 2 suit." Exo mark 2? What the hell has he been doing? "Yes... I've been rather impressed by your suit... your ex-Exo suit. I decided to try it out for myself. I noticed you don't own a patent on the design, and neither do I... yet" he smiled. He was trying to reverse-engineer my suit on his own! He probably saw video footage and replicated it as best as he could. I usually kept it under my coat when I wore it, but I'm sure he must have seen it. After all, he did assault me at the hotel room before.

262 paused. She still held Tera, who was too weak and tired to struggle against her, let alone stand up on her own. However, she held her head low and closed her eyes. I could see her clearly from my angle, and was glad she had her hands too full to take my gun. Something in 262 snapped... she changed somehow. I wasn't sure what, but when she opened her eyes a moment later, she looked determined, as though she had made up her mind. She lowered Tera to the floor, propping my exhausted girlfriend against a wall, and turned to face her master.

"Maa~ster" she cooed as she slowly started to walk toward Rob.

"Wh- What are you doing? Follow my orders or I will break you again!" he threatened.

"Don't you want what I have, master?" she spoke with as melodic a voice as she could, despite how raspy it sounded. "I'm sure you'd rather take care of business on your own, without that pesky toy" she said nodding at the gun. She was being cute and sexy, more so than I had ever seen any of her sisters act. Every inflection of her voice, every sway of her hips, everything she did screamed 'take me'.

"I- what?" Rob said. I wasn't sure what she was doing, but I didn't want to interrupt something that would delay his killing me.

"Let's bind master! I know you want to" she said coquettishly.

"B- Bind? Really? You'll bind with me? It's about time! Finally decided to join my side, have you?" I couldn't see Rob clearly, but his voice was clearly happy, or at least pleased. "So... what, here? Now?"

"Yes Master. It won't take long." I recalled binding with Tera... I sure hope she wasn't serious about that. But then again, I had no idea what side she was on anymore.

"Wha- What do I have to do?" Rob asked. Apparently, he was unfamiliar with this aspect of binding. I suppose it isn't that surprising, after all hundreds of people worked on their various systems, and nanobots did not seem to be his forte. Then again... he knew more about them than I did.

"Kiss me" 262 cooed as she came up to him, swaying her hips seductively. She was far more the temptress than any of her sisters. But wait- a kiss? That didn't seem right... but somehow it was familiar.

"Just a kiss?" he asked. She nodded as she gently placed her arms around his shoulders, looked up at his dark eyes. I dared to peak around the corner more, and saw she had completely distracted him. Maybe now I would have a chance to escape. I prepared to make a run for it, but before I could, he held up his gun again. "Nice try, just stay put" he said looked up at me, before looking back at 262.

She held his face in her hands, and brought her lips closer to his. Sensually, they embraced in a long passionate kiss. I couldn't help but stare at them. He was completely engrossed by her. I thought maybe now I could go for it, but the kiss ended too soon. What I saw next I did not expect. 262 backed away from her master as he visibly stood taller, stronger, and more confident. Something about him had changed physically, and he was empowered by it.

"Yes... YES! I can feel strength coursing through my blood! I feel... strong. I've never felt this good!" Rob smiled as he flexed his hand, looking at his fist as though he were now able to hold something he couldn't before. "YES!" he repeated several times. "I can... feel your presence... fascinating." He put down the gun, and walked freely and confidently over to a shelf. "You may have noticed yourself, Daniel, but binding with one of these robots doesn't just boost your awareness with your robot, but it increases your health, your stamina, your strength. Then again, maybe a healthy guy like you didn't notice, but for a man like me, a little strength will go a long way" he said with his back turned to me, messing with something. "I'd been following the development of those nano-bots for years, hoping they could cure me. The whole reason I joined MMR was so I could get closer to using them, but of course Tom had to ruin that with his plans to integrate them into his stupid robots; I never should have told him."

Increased Health? That would explain why my bruises and injuries were healing so quickly. But added strength? I don't recall feeling anything like that at all. Perhaps this was a different type of binding? I mean, I had to make love to Tera to bind with her, but they only kissed! Something was bugging me about that... like I couldn't put my finger on it. No matter, without his gun at hand, I figured I'd still be able to take him in a fair fight. Sure I was hurt and injured, but I'd been bound far longer than he had, so I must have been better attuned to it. Plus I'm sure he couldn't be any stronger than me especially if I started off healthy while he was sick. He would have no idea what hit him.

I left my hiding place, and marched over toward him trying to stay relatively quiet. 262 didn't do a thing to stop me. She just stood near Tera, and remained silent. Rob threw something over his shoulders I couldn't quite make out, but I quickly realized what it was - the upper portion of an exo-skeleton suit, much like my own. He finished fitting on a much larger glove than what my suit used, and pressed his hand to his shoulder before I could get to him. I had to move fast, and I hoped he didn't hear me as I walked up quickly to him, ready to strike. Unfortunately, he was ready for me.

With a sudden agile twist of his upper body, Rob threw a punch at me faster than I could register, and hit me square in the chest. The force was enough to knock me off me feet, and send me tumbling backwards until I came to a rest in the middle of the room. Thank god for that vest, but even then, he managed to knock the wind out of me.

"Like it? I got the idea from you" he said readjusting his glove. He walked over to me while I struggled to get in some air. "I've never tried it at full power before. You see, until now I've been too weak to control it well. I was hoping it would help me get around without the RCUs, but it still needs a lot of work. But for right now..." he said as he stood over me, "... I think it will do just fine." Rob flipped open a panel near his neck on the suit and twisted a nob. I could see a gauge go up from green to red. He had just raised the setting on it, putting it to the max strength. With a swift swing of his arm, Rob punched me in the face, knocking me senseless for a moment. "First let’s take care of that vest, maybe I can use it myself."

He reached down, smiling with a sinister grin, and pulled at my vest. He didn't need to pull it off me, which would have been difficult with it under my coat, but he managed to undo the tight Velcro joints with each tug until it lost its shell-like protective shape. I tried to fight him off, but with a flick of his wrist, he swatted away my hand with a loud snap. Pain shot up my arm, and into my spine. My arm was broken for the second time that day, and I was unable to do anything to defend myself. I had to do my best to hold back the pain, but it was a losing battle. The smile on his face grew as sinister and maniacal as the time 252 attacked Joan, continually hitting her in the same spot on her sensitive arm.

Without missing a beat, Rob started punching me relentlessly, hammering his gloved fist into my torso with his enhanced strength. One fist in my side; another in my stomach; one on my face... his punches came faster and faster. I couldn't help but think that his design was not as refined or safe as my own. Funny the things you think about when someone is beating you to a pulp. I kept my broken arm out of the way, and tried to defend myself with my one good arm, but he just kept coming at me. Each punch grew stronger and more painful than the last. Punch after punch, he pounded me into the ground. I managed to look over toward Tera while he went ballistic on me. Tears streamed down her face as she screamed, struggling harder than ever to get to me, but her sister held her back all the same.

"Get away from him! You're killing him!" she yelled. I barely managed to hear those words, the rest were drowned out by the ringing in my ears and the pain that flooded my brain.

Everything was starting to go dark. I struggled not to pass out, but feared it was a pointless endeavor. I couldn't save Tera; I probably only made it worse for her. At least this way I wouldn't have to feel his punches anymore. The onslaught paused for a moment, giving me time to gather enough strength to keep awake. I could feel my body being dragged up against a wall somewhere, before the pummeling continued. He was beating me to death, and no one could help me.

I looked up through a bloody and swollen eye as he prepared another punch, drool flying from his mouth wildly. I couldn't stop him, and instead waited for the inevitable. But it never came. He stopped in mid motion, his fist still preparing to punch. His eyes went wide with shock, and he struggled to breathe.

"What? What the hell is happening?!" he hissed. He fell backwards, barely able to catch himself, only to end up propped up on all fours, frozen like a statue. "I can't move... I feel so weak" he managed to say. He struggled to control the upper part of the suit her wore, but his body had somehow been drained of all its strength. I fought with all my might, focusing on him, to stay awake. I tried to move, but pain echoed through my body and I was forced to stay put. "What the hell did you do to me you robotic bitch?!" he snarled as he tried to move. "Get over here and help me!"

"Aww~... Did my master grow all tired? Maybe I should have told him that was just a 2 minute sample of what I could offer if I bound with him" 262 cooed. That’s right; Tera gave me a sample of what binding could do when she kissed me. 262 put on a frown, but it was clearly mocking him. "Side effects include exhaustion, headache, light-headedness, and vengeance."

"What? When... when I get my hands on you..." he threatened, as he gathered enough strength to move one arm up toward his neck, but he overshot and struck his own face. He cursed and spat as he lost his balance and fell over, his arms stiff. I could do nothing but watch as he eventually managed to lower the dial on the neck of the device, lowering the strength to a minimal setting. His body went limp, now weighted down by the weight of the heavy suit on his weakened body. He remained there for a moment, breathing heavily, before turning over and crawling slowly toward his bed.

"You lied to me, Rob" 262 said angrily. "You made me hurt my family and their friends. You abused me and them. I KILLED for you! No- no more! I will- will not be your ssss-slave any longer, mAsTeR" she yelled, put a mocking tone in the last word. Something was going on with her but I couldn't tell what. "You arrrrre cold and hear-tless! I- haa- te- you!" Her words came out broken, robotic, as though she were experiencing an error. I couldn't figure it out then, but eventually I realized she was defying her own programming, struggling to circumvent what he did to her, and it was causing errors in her system. She struggled to talk, as though she had to fight to speak, slowly walking closer to Rob, leaving Tera behind.

I noticed the door to the room open, and Joan tottered in. She still held her side, hunched over from the assault 262 inflicted on her earlier. As she leaned against a wall, she froze when she saw everyone, trying to take in all she saw.

Rob managed to crawl up to his pod-like bed, and propped himself up. It took all his remaining strength, but he managed to hold himself up in a standing position, leaning against the small table next to his bed. "I'll deal with you later, traitor" he said breathlessly to 262. "But first..." Slowly, Rob picked up the gun he put aside before, and aimed it at me again. His weak hand was barely able to hold it straight, but somehow he managed to. Something moved into my field of vision, blocking out the bright moon from the window. At the same time, a loud bang rang through my ears. I watched, unsure what just happened, as the dark form in front of me turned into the silhouette of a girl. Something was wrong; she was tumbling backward toward me.

Tera landed in my lap, a look of shock frozen on her face. She looked up at me, and strived to breathe. It took a moment for me to realize what was happening, but as soon as I looked down her body I snapped out of my daze. She held her one good hand to her chest, covered in her advanced android blood. Her fist wasn't just wet with blood, it was gushing out of her chest. I instantly knew she had taken a bullet for me, and it struck her heart! She tried to talk, but could only form breathless words with her mouth. The advantage of being a robot was that she didn't die instantly when shot in her heart, but she would overheat very quickly, and without being able to breathe, she had maybe a minute or 2 until she burned out.

"Shit" Rob hissed, apparently having missed his intended target.

"NO!" Joan yelled. She struggled to make her way over to us, but her own injuries slowed her down.

"Tera!" 262 yelled. I didn't expect it, but she rushed over to us, and kneeled down in front of Tera, blocking Rob's view of us. "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" she repeated as she looked over Tera. She moved Tera's hand away, and put her own hand to her mouth in shock when she saw the wound. Tears swelled in her eyes as realized the extent of Tera's injury. Joan had managed to make it over to us also, and started pushing 262 away.

"Stay away from her!" she yelled, fighting with her sister.

"I'm trying to help!" 262 fought back, trying to calm Joan. It wasn't working; the two of them brawled over Tera. They stopped abruptly when Tera put her hand up, and placed it gently on Joan's hand, and then on 262. The look in her eyes begged for them to stop fighting, and they did. 262 gently pulled down Tera's dress, until her chest was completely uncovered, and placed her hand over Tera's gunshot. "Please, let me take a look" she asked Tera, and blue lights swirled under the surface of her skin, revealing a large panel. The panel lifted away and opened to expose her chest cavity, and the damage within. Tera closed her eyes and brought her left hand to my face, gently touching me, and then softly hooking her hand behind my neck as she braced herself. Her fingers left a trail of orange-red blood on my cheek, and I could feel her temperature skyrocketing.

Inside her chest was a mess. Blood had gotten everywhere, and was causing problems with her other systems. The bullet had exploded inside her, sending bits of shrapnel to various parts of her body. Her lungs were punctured, various systems were mangled, and her heart was hardly there at all. What remained was a mess of plastic and tissue. Steam started to rise from her chest as her core temperature rose to dangerous levels. There was literally nothing I could do to help her, and without Tom or Cynthia, she would die.

"Oh God! I'm so sorry! This is all my fault" 262 said, continuing to apologize. I didn't notice when she ripped her own shirt off, but I did see when her shapely chest split along the seams and opened to reveal her own chest cavity.

"What are you doing?" Joan asked, looking at 262 sternly.

"The only thing I can do" she replied.

"What are you doing over there!? Get out of the way!" Rob yelled from somewhere behind 262. Another gunshot went off, but this time it went wide, and missed, striking the wall. He had a hard time aiming, and the recoil of a gun was probably hard to deal with in his state as well, so he didn't shot often, and took his time to aim.

Reaching inside Tera's chest, 262 pulled at what remained of her heart. Tera gripped me tightly as her shattered heart was literally pulled out of her body. At this point it wasn't doing any good. I figured 262 was going to hook up her own circulatory system to Tera, and pump for both of them, except there were a few problems with that theory. The first was that Rob was still shooting at us, and the second was that I doubted her heart would be powerful enough to pump that much blood. Did they have to worry about blood types? Probably not. Instead, I watched as 262's own heart stopped pumping, and she reached in and started pulling it out of her circulatory system.

"No! You can't do that!" Joan argued, trying to stop 262, who had finally come to our side.

"I'm sorry for everything I did" 262 said looking at her sister sternly as tears ran down her face. "I hope someday you can forgive me, all of you. I've made horrible mistakes in my life, and I've had to live with them. At least I won't have to live with this one."

Violently, she pulled her own heart out of her chest, and swiftly attached it inside Tera. It was a bit shoddy, but as soon as it was in place, her heart started pumping again. Tera had lost a lot of blood, and her lungs were still punctured, and many of her other systems were damaged as well. She wasn't out of the fire yet, but 262 did just buy her some time, but at what cost? Tera opened her eyes again, feeling the blood pumping. She couldn't breathe, but she could smile weakly. 262 closed up Tera's chest, and lifted up her dress again, before closing her own chest. She breathed heavily now that her heart wasn't pumping blood and this was the only other way she could relieve her temperature. She would only have a minute or so left until her systems overheated, but she remained calm and worked fast. Quickly, 262 placed her hand behind Tera's neck, and with her other hand, she unclasped the buckle of the collar she wore. She must have known how to disable the defense mechanism in the collar, because it failed to go off when she pulled the collar gently away from Tera's neck. She held it firmly, pinching what appeared to be a hidden button in the back of the collar embedded under the surface.

"Danny" 262 said crying. "Please do what I couldn't. Protect my sisters." Without waiting for a reply, she stood up, and turned away from us, facing Rob.

"Damn it! What the hell have you been doing over there? Traitor!" he snarled.

"Maa~ster" 262 cooed again, doing her temptress walk toward him. "You never did give me a name."

"Get back!" he ordered, before firing his gun at her. The bullet struck her, and she flinched, but never stopped walking toward him at the same pace.

"Please master, I have a suggestion for a name if you can't think of one" she continued.

He fired again, and again he struck her, and again she flinched. But she never lost a beat. "What the hell are you talking about?! Get away!" he yelled.

"If you want, you can call me your Angel..." she suggested, coming up to him, placing her hands over his shoulders. He shot her again at point blank, ripping a whole in her, but she ignored it, unable to feel the pain of it anymore, and continued unabated. Suddenly, she griped him tightly, as though she were hugging him. "... Your Angel of Death!" she yelled as she tackled him. He was too weak to resist as she practically lifted him off the ground and ran. She burst through the large window with a loud shatter of glass, and the two of them tumbled together out of sight. I heard a splash as they landed on the covered pool. Suddenly, electric light echoed off the trees outside, and I could hear Rob scream briefly. The buzz of electricity drowned out his voice, before he fell silent.

Joan got up and limped over to the window. She looked down at the mess below, which I couldn't see, and closed her eyes when she saw the sight. I learned later that 262 had released the mechanism on the collar when she hit the pool, sending electricity through their bodies, killing them both. This was one case that would go down in history books as the first ever robot murder/suicide.

Joan started to head back toward us, but before she got far, a bright beam of light illuminated the sky outside, and I suddenly became aware of the sound of a helicopter. More lights echoed off the trees in the back, barely in view, as men's raised voices could be hear outside. Joan looked back before hurrying toward us. Red and blue lights now dominated the trees as the sound of someone breaking the front door in downstairs distracted us.

Joan hugged us, probably more out of her instinct to protect us than anything else, and cried. Tera tried to say something, her face still twisted with pain, but she had no voice, just like when I first found her. This time, however, she saved my life. Men with guns and bright flashlights rushed into the room and surrounded us yelling. Before any of us could even put our hands up, two large men in dark jackets lifted Joan off of us and dragged her away kicking and screaming. They were clearly cyborgs themselves, otherwise they never could have budged her an inch.

"Danny! Tera! Don't touch me!" she fought as they dragged her out of the room with ease. They had no problem dealing with her, as though they were expecting it and were prepared already. The whole place went into chaos as I did my best to hold onto Tera. I wasn't about to give her up after everything we just went through. I noticed the men all wore jackets with different initials in bold letter printed on the back. FBI. CIA. SWAT. Even the local and state police were there. How the hell could they have gotten here so quickly, especially when there wasn't anyone to call them? And how did they know to come prepared to deal with androids?

"Oh my! You two are a bloody mess" an ever so familiar voice sighed, "... literally." Jack stepped into view. His arm was in a sling tied close to his body, and over his shoulder he wore a dark jacket. A metal badge on his belt reflected the light from the various flashlights and told me Jack had been keeping a secret bigger than I expected. I was speechless. "Looks like we were a little too late" Jack said, kneeling down to my level. "Fuck Danny, you're a mess. And Tera too! Don't worry, we'll take care of her" he said before two men in white coats came up to us on either side. They reached down and did something to the back of her neck, but I couldn't see what. Tera stared at me scared and confused when suddenly her body stiffened and froze into place, like a statue. The other man did something else to her head, and her stiff frozen body relaxed and went limp in my arms. Together, they lifted her up, and placed her on a gurney. I was too weak and in shock to stop them, although I tried. I managed to hold onto Tera's hand until they wheeled her away, and my grip failed.

"Take special care of that one" Jack called out to them, before turning back to me. "Now that it's just us boys, I'm sure you're a little surprised by all this. I work for the CIA, in the cybernetic crimes division. I'd been undercover monitoring several targets when all this went down. I'm sure by now you've noticed Cynthia's shoulder... you see I've been investigating sleeper androids, monitoring them, and keeping taps on them. I know I wasn't supposed to engage my targets, but when they literally fell into your lap, I had no choice. I-"

I didn't want to hear Jack's excuses, and I reached out to strangle him with my good hand. Of course I had no strength left, and he held me off with ease. "Where's Tera?" I growled.

"Right. Sorry about this Danny-boy." Jack nodded to someone behind me, and I felt something cold pressed to the side of my neck. That was the last thing I could remember as the drugs started to work their way into my system, and knock me out.


------
/Chapter 32
Chapter 33 here.

[TW]

Holy. Shit.

I don't know what I was expecting for a climax. But this wasn't it.

This was better.

More in depth review to follow. Meanwhile, take a hearty pat on the back!

[gynoneko]

Heh heh. Really glad you liked it. I hope other people like it too, it took a lot of effort to write this story and get it this far. I've really come to love these characters myself, and plan to write more with them. In fact, I hope to do another book but we'll see. First I want to rewrite this one for a more... general audience. Who knows, maybe i could make some money with it if I put enough work into it. I look forward to your more in depth review, and I hope to see some more critiques (positive and negative are both welcome) from other members.

[NukuNookee]

Great way to wrap things up, Jack being a fed was pretty well hinted at previously, so no surprise there. But Rob's totally assholery sure was in character for his true self, excellent writing there with his interactions.

Too bad about 262, but maybe they can save/repair her... or at least use her remains to create a new sister without all her emotional / programming baggage from Rob's abuse.

[gynoneko]

Glad you enjoy it so far. I wasn't sure how obvious Jack's real job was... but there is more to it than just that of course. Wait till you see the finale! And I had so many ideas for this, I can't help but write it to lead directly into the sequel!

Out of curiosity, did anyone have questions about any of this? Did I miss something in the story that I forgot to answer? There is still one chapter left which will have more answers, but I just want to make sure I didn't miss anything.

[DukeNukem 2417]

This is probably the longest story I've read since I finished Robotman's novel-length stuff......and it's DEFINITELY awesome!

[gynoneko]

Thanks for the positive vibes!

I've been hard at work on the last chapter and I've run into a problem... so many things happen to wrap up the story... that I've already passed my 5,000 word goal per chapter and ended up with over 8,000, and I am only a little over half way done!

So it's like this... should I just write out a really long final chapter and give everyone everything all at once? Or should I split it into 2 chapters (which actually does have a natural break in it making it an easy transition) and make this thing 34 chapters long and give you guys something soon, and finish up the rest in a week or 2?

What do you guys think?

[NukuNookee]

If there's a natural break point, it would make sense to make two chapters, since it'd be very large otherwise, about 15,000 words at least from your estimate, which would be like three chapters in one.