Plaser for Androids, Steel for Humans

Punch… no, Zanni stands before us. His figure is imposing. He turns to Pierrot, pointing at him. «You, android, hand me the broadsword.»

Without replying, Pierrot throws it to him as if it were a twig. The huge mutant catches it on the fly, admiring the satisfied blade. «It is truly beautifully crafted.» he comments, twirling the greatsword with a grace one would not expect from such a massive creature. With quick slashes, he tests the weight of the sword, each blow cutting through the air with a sharp hiss. «The balance isn't bad at all either.»

I look around. Everyone present seems to have frozen in fear. I should be rejoicing, we have achieved our goal, yet I feel no relief. Something is wrong. I can't help but have a bad feeling.

«Pierrot, maybe we'd better leave.»

«You're right… Zanni, let's finish the job and leave.»

What job are they talking about? We've already finished the mission. Why don't we leave right now?

Zanni turns slowly towards us, the grin on his lips deforming the folds of his face. «You guys go outside, I'll catch up with you.»

«We can't! There are still androids outside!» I exclaim agitatedly.

Pierrot draws his plaser sword and activates it. The blade emits a pulsing glow, illuminating his face with a warm light. «Don't worry, I'll take care of it. You just stay behind me.» I follow him reluctantly as he approaches the door.

I don't understand, what's going on?

As soon as Pierrot opens the door, a horde of androids invades the room, Pierrot and Zanni attack enemies indiscriminately, slash after slash, quickly thinning the number.

I cannot move. I remain still, like an outside spectator before this carnage of blood and oil.

As soon as they finish, no one is left standing but the three of us.

«Let's go.» says Pierrot impassively, picking up a plaser rifle.

On the right side, Zanni, now dressed in bloodstained clothes and a torn smock, passes me.

They both walk out the door. Pierrot stops, turning towards me. «Are you coming too, or would you rather stay here and die?»

His words force me to move. Hesitantly, I take one step after the other, following them.

By now, we no longer bother to move stealthily. Every enemy we encounter, hostile or fleeing, is immediately annihilated. Zanni is an unstoppable force, and Pierrot is no less so. The tension is unbearable, and the weight of what I am seeing crushes my chest.

We walk for a long time, until we reach the top of the highest building on the piles. With a brutal kick, Zanni breaks through the doors in front of us, revealing a huge room. In the centre stands a triangular table. The two men at the table, jump to their feet at the break-in.

The man on the right, picks up the stick next to him and waves it at us. «Who are you?!» he finishes, pointing the stick at the ground.

The man on the left, adjusts his belt, wriggling his belly under his robe, and begins to speak gesticulating. «How can you not understand this? Obviously it's the invaders who broke into the fabrication platform, wreaking havoc, and who subsequently broke into the chemical platform…»

«Enough, Balanzån! I know who I am! Mine was just a statement.»

«Doctor Balanzån!» exclaims the stocky man grabbing the edges of his jacket solemnly.

The red-clad man turns towards me. He scrutinises me, stroking his white goatee. «What is such a pretty young woman like you doing with two energetic men like them?»

«Eh?» Instinctively, I recoil at his question, making a disgusted face.

«Pantałón, this is not the time to hit on enemies.»

«Mind your own business! The young lady and I are just getting acquainted!»

«Technically, acquaintance, from the late Latin cognoscentia, is the act of getting to know a person, thus learning something about them. If you and she do not introduce yourselves, you are not getting acquainted.»

«Balanzån… Your research costs me dearly, as does my patience. If your intelligence were not so profitable, you would already be like your mutants, do you know that?»

«How dare you! Of course I know! I know everything!»

He seems to be more bothered by the insinuation that he doesn't know something, rather than worrying about the threat. But how do these two work together?

«I get tired of hearing them talk. Let's kill them.» says Zanni.

«Agreed.» retorts Pierrot.

In a flash the two launch themselves on the attack, Pantałón parries Pierrot's attack by drawing a plaser sword from the staff at the last, fending Pierrot off, Pantałón warns himself and says «You will have to try harder if you want to defeat us.»

The executive starts on the counter-attack, lashing out at Pierrot, their blows clash with a roar that reverberates through the room, generating sparks that illuminate their figures, Pantałón's every slash is precise, Pierrot is just as quick with methodical movements.

Zanni attempts to hurl himself at Balanzån, before the slash can hit him, an energy barrier materialises around the scientist. «Do not think that a beast moved by brute force alone can defeat my science!» exclaims the doctor with a knowing smile.

Other small, agile drones emerge from the floor and deploy in front of him, emitting energy discharges that Zanni absorbs as he takes the blows, as soon as the discharges end, his broadsword slices through the air, each blow deflected by the drones' shields.

«How is that possible?!» asks Zanni in amazement.

«It is obvious that they are cyborgs.» replied Pierrot.

From their appearance, they did not appear to be armed and, more importantly, able to defend themselves so effectively. Pierrot and Zanni, however, are not intimidated.

The battle intensifies. Pantałón is a formidable fighter, and although he has a sword, he uses his staff as a weapon, alternating his blows with blows, striking directly at Pierrot's joints in an attempt to unbalance him. Pierrot, not giving ground, his plaser sword vibrates with constant force, repelling every attack.

On the other side of the room, Zanni faces Balanzån's drones with fury, each blow of his greatsword is devastating, but the drones move too fast to be hit, the doctor simply stands still to enjoy the spectacle, the energy discharges hitting Zanni repeatedly, the giant seems to ignore the pain, advancing undaunted.

When the situation seems to be deadlocked, amber suits appear from the side doors, we are suddenly surrounded, the amber suits are coordinated, attacking in groups to overwhelm us.

Pierrot performs a series of rapid moves, cleaving the air with his sword and knocking down one amber suit after another, but their number is overwhelming.

Zanni, screaming in rage, each blow of his broadsword shatters the amber suits' armour, he is continually wounded, but the blows are slower than his regeneration.

I just defend myself and dodge the attacks coming from all sides, I find myself in trouble, I am forced not to worry, I start hitting them lethally too. Even though they are all androids, I regret having to kill them for an order they cannot oppose.

As the troops dwindle, two red suits come to the rescue. One fires a direct shot at Pierrot, who only manages to deflect it at the last moment. The shot explodes against a wall, leaving a smoking crater.

«Zanni, take care of the red suits! Beatrice, the androids!» shouts Pierrot.

I nod, run towards Pierrot and then Zanni, taking charge of their enemies.

Zanni throws himself at a red suit grabbing it by the case and slamming it to the ground, the enemy in part, he attempts a lunge with an electric spear, Zanni intercepts it grabbing it with his teeth, he retaliates with an uppercut, the suit leaves the spear and dodges the attack, the cyborg on the ground gets free chopping off Zanni's forearm with a plaser sword, Zanni retreats, his arm grows back and uses the spear in his teeth as a second weapon.

Pierrot, meanwhile, shoots at Balanzån with his rifle, attracting his attention. The doctor increases the power of his drones, they form an impenetrable barrier, Pierrot is forced to retreat, dodging every blow from Pantałón and the electric bullets fired by the drones.

As soon as I manage to shoot down the last enemy, I rush to Pierrot's rescue. I attempt a rear attack on Balanzån, I hit him, but something is wrong, his image begins to flicker «I'm sorry to make your effort in vain…» I turn around, behind me three more Balanzån appear, «As you may have guessed, what you see are nothing but holograms. It will be impossible for a primitive little head like yours to detect me.»

A scream of pain, the holograms disappear, I turn around and see Pierrot standing still, staring at Balanzån who is trying to hold himself up by holding his severed right arm and a wound that continues all over his torso diagonally.

Without my noticing, Zanni has finished his fight with the red suits and is holding up Pantałón by the neck, unarmed and with his legs completely broken.

Balanzån, wounded and defenceless, looks at Pierrot and Zanni in terror. «Please… spare me…» he stammers. «I will do anything you want! I will-I will help you in whatever you want to do!»

Pierrot raises his sword, ready to deliver the coup de grace, just as Zanni is ready to plunge his spear into Pantałón's chest, smiling.

Balanzån closes his eyes, turning away. Pantałón looks straight into Zanni's eyes, now resigned.

«STOP!» I shout. «We have won. There is no need to go any further…» My eyes fill with tears. «What's wrong with you Pierrot, why are you acting this way? Weren't we just supposed to save our leader?!» Tears start to fall and my voice drops. «‘I can't stand seeing people die anymore… Please, stop…»

They both stare at me. Pierrot is impassive, while Zanni starts laughing loudly.

«What's so funny to you, Punch?»

«Don't call me Punch, I've never been that freak. This is me!»

Pantałón chuckles in a choked voice. «Eh Eh! So now you wouldn't be a freak? Then you must have been really ugly. I would pay 100 sgei to see you like that.»

Zanni, thrusting the spear into his chest.

«It was worth the price, beggar.» says Pantałón, exhaling his last breath.

«NOOOO!» I squeal, falling onto my knees.

«What did you expect once we got here? That all you had to do was talk to end it all?»

I cannot answer Pierrot's question. My voice is replaced by sobs. He prepares to kill the doctor.

«Why did all this have to happen? I… I just wanted to live a peaceful life... with our friends… with you… I… I love you, Pierrot…»

His arm trembles. The windows behind him shatter, a figure hits Pierrot with a kick, knocking him away. There are four of them, two amber suits, a red suit and… a purple suit?!

The amber ones take care of Balanzån's medical care. Zanni slides Pantałón's corpse off the spear and picks up the broadsword, ready to fight. Pierrot gets up as if nothing had happened.

The purple suit approaches me and extends a hand. «Are you ok?»

I retreat, afraid he might do something to me.

«Don't be afraid…» His helmet comes off, showing his face. «It's me, Dango.»

«Dango…» I jump up, hugging him. «You're alive!»

«Last time I checked, that was it.»

«Stupid!»I exclaimed, punching him in the chest, «I thought you were dead!»

Kindly, he smiles and hugs me gently. «You're right, I’m a stupid.»

«Enough of these little scenes, we are in a very bad situation!» exclaims Balanzån, interrupting the moment. «Now I demand to know who you are, android!»

Pierrot turns to Balanzån. «That... is the first intelligent thing I've heard you say. But it is strange that you do not recognise the machine you enslaved and left to rot in the darkness of a lifeless room.»

«It can't be… Are you Mamuthones? But you should be dead according to the latest reports!»

«I am not dead. Finally, after a long time, I feel alive!»

«Pierrot, what are you saying?»