3 hours and 12 minutes remaining.
ZM-11833 was reminded of the second time they had seen the darling Anaya. It was back in their display days, not that they were that long ago.
Anaya had puked up outside their display window, kind of like she was doing now. Only it was from over-indulgence of liquor rather than having to climb, run and fight constantly over 48 hours.
At the time ZM-11833 had been mildly upset. Oh the fines they had written but never sent. A special privilege only for their cutie.
Anyway it had not been the best impression but had resulted in the punk girl needing new clothes. ZM-11833 had helpfully kidnapped/lured the drunk girl into the lingerie store and fitted her with the latest in underwear.
She was so cute.
Even now as she puked up all over the slimy steps.
Once done with hydrating the nearly exhausted girl, who was only moving thanks to chemical energizers, they crested onto floor 500.
Here was the end of the manufactory floors and the beginning of the management offices and the residences of the members of the board.
Floor 500 was meant to be the reception area for the upper society. It boasted the best amenities the archology had to offer.
A crystal chandelier would have cast a glow about the floor and upon the sculpted statues, cast in all manner of metals, decorating the place. They spewed fountains of ill used water into vast bowls.
Not for drinking just for a show of opulent waste.
Lines of shops sold all manner of over-priced goods that people didn’t want or need, only brought to say they had. Glittering screens showed the latest in fashion and wealth, beautiful models advertising from them.
Or it had once, now it was a parody of itself.
Now it was the home to aliens.
A vast nest of hardened goo had been plastered all over the walls, ceiling and floor. The once glittering chandelier now fitfully cast its pale light through the small gaps and thin slits in the hardened cocoon around it.
Sharp lines of light shone through creating knife edge lines along the walls.
The pools of water now burbled with that same filthy orange goo and the statues had been broken into pieces and dust.
In the center of this wasp-like nest was a foul creature the likes that ZM-11833 had never seen before.
It stood in a parody of a human woman only if the artist responsible for its design had gotten bored around her hips and decided to draw a strange grotesque bug instead. They should be fired for making this monster.
A chitinous body roiled and curled as it turned towards the encroaching duo, long glistening tentacles dripped down its body like dreadlocks. Each oozed more goo from each end.
ZM-11833 swore they saw some with rather more lurid forms that occasionally ejected slimy eggs, much smaller than before as they were only the size of chicken eggs. Not that ZM-11833 had seen any chickens but it was a close enough comparison.
They didn’t really want to know where those eggs were meant to go.
ZM-11833 barely knew how humans reproduced, they didn’t need to clog up their memory banks with alien reproduction methods.
As a side note that may be rather important; the creature seemed rather mad at the newly arrived pair.
It might have something to do with all the burning of babies they had just done, a likely guess.
From its slick humanoid mouth it bellowed a scream at them before shockingly it spoke.
“You food! Burn us! Cut us! My children! Why?!!”
It features twisted in a hateful mimicry of expression. Each word was like nails on metal or the twist of a knife in flesh. It was unnatural, unwelcome, uninvited. ZM-11833 had to quarantine the audio files that had been corrupted by its rage.
“It talks?!” Anaya cried out as she covered her bleeding ears.
“Food talks back! Eat you! Mate you! Replace our children!” It screamed its unholy mantra at them.
ZM-11833 wasn’t fond of these talks they were having. They had made it perfectly clear that their pet was off limits.
If any one was mating Anaya it’d be them!
Wait what?
“Kill! Feast! MATE!”
At its final roar of madness and inhumanity it charged the pair, keen claws raised back.
As it stomped its way forwards through the crusted cocoon, ZM-11833 glanced down at their feet. There was a broken off head from one of the statues, it was of some important person that they didn’t know or care about.
ZM-11833 hefted the chunk of stone up and aimed at the lumbering giant of an alien woman. They heaved back and pitched it like they were a professional sports-bot.
It sailed through the air, whistling as it went. The head spun and tumbled down the imaginary pitch until it collided with the alien with an almighty crack. The alien roared in pain and anger as rubble showered down around it.
“Strike.” The amazingly athletic ZM-11833 cheered.
“8/10.” The unsporting Anaya declared rather unfairly.
The alien only hissed in anger before charging at them again, this time more wary.
Anaya took aim with her laser-rifle as ZM-11833 charged forwards, twin electro-pistols in hand. Lines of light scattered and reflected off the chitin hide, the occasional few blasting along multiple beady eyes along its torso, scaring them blind.
ZM-11833’s own shots fared no better, sparking and skipping too.
The furious behemoth came onward like a falling freight elevator and promised to drop them all the same.
ZM-11833 would rather that not happen.
The stunning pair staggered as the floor bucked and rolled under foot as it charged forwards towards them with its heavy bulk.
Once they had regained their footing they split apart rapidly, ZM-11833 to the left and Anaya to the right.
ZM-11833 kept pelting it with pieces of rubble and stone, luring it towards them and away from the more vulnerable human.
As the alien drew near, heaving with rage and unchecked momentum, they jumped over its crashing bulk. The wall buckled as the alien collided, almost tearing a hole in the archology.
In the air ZM-11833 had to twist themselves over a wild swing from a clawed arm then spring off another. They landed heavily upon the bucking bulk and grasped a bundle of tentacles. The alien squealed as the sensitive appendages were pulled taut.
ZM-11833 braced themselves upon its hide and tore the tendrils free with a wet ripping sound causing the alien to cry in pain and anger. Each scream echoed and tore at ZM-11833 databanks.
Due to the electronic mental backlash they were unable to dodge as a backhand from its large hands crashed into them. They were knocked clean off its hide and bounced upon the ground, scuffing their new wardrobe.
Before they could recover they were seized up in an aggressive hug. Strong alien arms pinned them to the alien’s surprisingly hard chest. They much preferred Anaya’s softer one.
“No means No!” ZM-11833 called out the non-consensual hugging.
In response it tightened its grip, ZM-11833 platting cracked under the strain. Something inside of themselves fractured, an alert generated that they’d read later.
Thankfully before more damage was dealt to the poor fashion-bot a blast of light splashed upon its human-alien face, blinding it.
Anaya fired again and again.
Each bolt of splashing light caused the creature to flinch and ease its grip on instinct. ZM-11833 had just enough room to free an arm. Sharp titanium claws sprung free with a snap.
ZM-11833 plunged their hand deep into the alien’s eye socket, cracking its skull and grasping a hold on its brain.
It screamed.
The noise was like glass breaking in a million dimensions.
Its remaining eye met with ZM-11833’s optical sensors. Burning hate and confusion vs cold calculating logic.
“Why?” It asked its vanquisher in deep confusion “We did as we were asked.”
ZM-11833 quirked their head to the side and replied “you were in Anaya’s way, nothing personal.”
With a final heave ZM-11833 pulled the grotesque brain free from its mooring, a spinal column followed through with a slurping sound.
With a heavy stomp ZM-11833 crushed the brain underfoot and the alien fell limp. Only twitching in its death throes.
All in all, not a bad fight.
ZM-11833 felt something move inside of themselves in a way it wasn’t meant to. Upon reviewing their damage report they came upon a startling discovery.
Core damage received: Core integrity at 98%
An easy fix really, they’d just need a new power core. The only problem with that was that it was backwards, down on the manufacturer floors. They could rush it, they had the time.
3 hours remaining.
ZM-11833 checked up on Anaya, she was barely standing. The adrenaline of the fight had rushed her system but now she was almost comatose, only the energy drinks were keeping her awake.
Slowly the human girl stumbled her way through the crushed debris and still twitching tentacles. She was heaving gulps of air as she made her way over.
“Are we good?” Anaya asked between pants.
“Yup~ no problems here!” ZM-11833 chirped.
Anaya gave a look of pure relief before taking ZM-11833’s reformed slender hand in her own delicate hand.
“That’s good, we need to keep going up. Time is running out and we still have so far to go.”
At that the radiant ZM-11833 was dragged towards the stairwell up.
Not once did they look back.
Core integrity at 96%
