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The Biograft tightened its grip on its dual blades and looked around at the other Phighters on its team, gathered at the spawnpoint and waiting for the Phight to start. Sword and Rocket were chatting to each other happily, Hyperlaser was wiping a few smudges off his gear, and Vine Staff was standing beside it, her wooden arm loosely holding onto her staff.
“I MUST NOT BE DEFECTIVE,” the robot thought to itself, narrowing its eyes and shifting its stance slightly. There was tension in its circuits, this was its first Phight after all. Sure, it’d been through the same training as its kin, it had the same programming, but it didn’t have much experience. That part was suboptimal, to say the least.
Its four teammates gathered closer to it upon the Flipside announcing the match was starting in ten seconds, ready to run up to the conquer point as soon as they said “go!” Hyperlaser stood on its other side and glanced over at it briefly, his expression hidden behind his helmet’s black glass.
“Which Biograft am I with this time?” he asked.
“ME.”
“Very informative…” he remarked.
As soon as the Phight started, the five Inphernals leapt into action, running over to the point they were meant to capture as fast as they could. Looking around and nearly being flashbanged by how brightly it was perceiving all the colors in the arcade, Biograft turned down its vision’s saturation and continued on.
It blinked up onto the conquer point and squinted down at the opposing team running over. Scythe, Medkit, Shuriken, and Katana… that was odd. Weren’t there supposed to be five?
Biograft just happened to look up and was met with Banhammer hurtling down at it, hammer raised and ready to flatten it until it was nothing but scrap metal. The robot scrambled backward, trying to avoid the demi-deity’s wrath as he slammed into the ground and chortled at its fear, striding after it as their teammates brawled on the point.
“I MUST NOT BE DEFECTIVE,” it insisted mentally, backing up with small, quick steps and doing its best to get away from the opposing Inphernal’s swings of his hammer. “OBJECTIVE: KILL ALL, END ALL.” Brandishing its weapons, it blinked around the towering warden and tried to slice through his armor from the perceived safety of his flank, careful to try and stay out of the line of fire of Banhammer’s teammates. It had to win this Phight, for the glory of Blackrock and Biograft’s creator.
…and maybe its teammates could have some honor too.
Banhammer turned on his heel and swung at the robot, sending it flying into an arcade cabinet. It tried its best to get up, but while its limbs flailed and tried to grab at anything it could reach, its back was stuck in an awkward, mangled position. Was the chassis in its torso broken? A quick diagnostic revealed that yes, it was. Where was Vine Staff? Impending doom was near, approaching it with heavy footsteps and a toothy grin, and as much as Biograft hated to admit it, it needed help.
“VINE STAFF?” It called out, its speakers crackling slightly. Once again, it attempted to get up, grabbing at brightly colored, slightly squishy blocks. Spotting her ganging up on Medkit with Sword, Scythe rushing over to her teammate’s aid, it realized it’d have to figure out a way out of this. Maybe it could Echo Execute Medkit and end up warping over to Vine Staff as well?
Seeing Banhammer raise his weapon to deliver the last few finishing blows, it brought its dual blades together to point at Medkit and shoot, warping over just as the Inphernal smashed the arcade cabinet it had been lying against.
Medkit slumped over as its blades pierced his chest, the robot trying not to collapse on top of him due to the sorry state of its chassis. Scythe, sensing a fight she likely couldn’t win alone, turned tail and went after Rocket instead.
Sword ran off to chase after her while Vine Staff helped it upright, planting a few healing sprouts next to it. “You’re quite fragile, maybe stay close to me.” She says, frowning as she watches Banhammer leap after Sword and Rocket.
“AFFIRMATIVE,” Biograft replied, finding the healing sprouts’ magic to somehow mend its chassis. Running another diagnostic after a few moments and noticing that the previous damage was completely gone now, the two stood on the capture point and slowly raised their team’s score while Hyperlaser supported from afar with his sharp aim. Sword and Rocket were practically frolicking around just off-point, keeping Banhammer, Scythe, and the recently-respawned Medkit on their heels for single-minded revenge.
It would’ve gone quite smoothly if Shuriken hadn’t jumped up behind the two and started flinging his gear at them wildly, snickering as his sister turned around and started attacking right back in outrage. Remembering its objective, it leapt after Shuriken and attacked with newfound vigor as he was continuously pelted by sharp flower petals from his sister’s gear. Chasing after as he tried grappling away, it showed no remorse in slicing up the Inphernal and eventually dispatching him, all with minimal damage sustained.
“Very nice work, robot!” She encouraged, planting healing sprouts by Biograft, Rocket, and Sword. It crossed its arms and mimicked a somewhat proud pose, then went to walk back over to her. It would’ve stood beside her again, protected her from danger, if not for the red rope wrapping around its waist and pulling it backwards, far off the point and leaving Vine Staff alone.
“Every step matters,” a soft voice said to it, the rope unwinding and a clawed hand clasping its shoulder. “And I must purge this world of corruption.”
“UNHAND ME.” Biograft let out a small puff of steam through its vents and whirled around to blink through its attacker, before turning and repeating it twice more. Katana stepped forward and brought up a wall of wind- Gust Guard, Biograft remembered, that was the move that its creator often ranted about whenever he talked about the owl-like Inphernal. “Do you not wish for justice, robot?”
It didn’t reply immediately, leaping forward as the Gust Guard faded and sending forward a Slash Storm in retaliation. Katana moved away and raised his blade to block when it tried marking him with Echo Execution.
“YOUR DRIVE IS NOT ONE THAT SPURS ME ON.” It said, stumbling backwards as the Lost Temple swordsman advanced with graceful slashes of his blade. Flitting about and slicing at him with sharp, quick motions, Biograft noted its gradual rise in temperature and let out a scalding cloud of steam to cool off before it started severely overheating. “BUT I GIVE MY CONDOLENCES.” Its sentence ended in a screech of static as Katana drove his gear through its throat, very nearly severing its head.
“I MUST NOT BE DEFECTIVE,” it berated itself, cursing at how it’d left its neck open for attack. A simple mistake. In a burst of what felt like panic and the will to live, it chopped his forearm off and kicked his gear away so he couldn’t reach it, knowing he would respawn with it anyways. Lunging forward, angular horns flickering a bright orange-yellow, it slashed at the pained, retreating Inphernal.
“One minute left!” Valk crowed into his microphone. Urgency. The sense of urgency. Katana wasn’t dying fast enough. Activating its Phinisher, Overdrive, it mauled him like it was a rabid animal, moving fast enough that it was nearly teleporting short distances. His health was rapidly dropping now, but so was its own internal integrity due to it overclocking and growing much hotter than it was meant to be.
Aiming its blades at the swordsman and firing off another Echo Execution, it warped forward and drove its blades through Katana’s chest, the taller Inphernal instantly slumping to the ground as it pulled out its weapons and watched his body disappear a few moments later. “...REST.” It managed, its voice staticky. It was done, it had won, although it was barely standing. It needed to find Vine Staff now.
Biograft’s hand went to its throat, feeling at the wires sparking and sticking out of the hole there before hauling itself up and over the side of the capture point. The healer spotted it after a moment and ran over to pull it up, planting healing sprouts and checking to see if it was alright. “Goodness, what did Katana do to you?” She asked anxiously. It didn’t respond, stepping back onto the point alongside her and watching Rocket blow Banhammer up from afar.
“Aaand that’s time!” Valk announced. “Team 1 wins! Good effort, Team 2!”
Vine Staff turned to Biograft with a small smile, gently nudging its shoulder. “Good job, Biograft! You did very well for your first Phight!” It turned its head to stare at her, nodding. “AFFIRMATIVE. WE WON BECAUSE THE FIVE OF US WERE DOING OUR VERY BEST.” It observed its teammates join them, Hyperlaser climbing down from his perch and Sword and Rocket running over not long after.
“For the glory of Blackrock, I suppose.” Hyperlaser said calmly, turning his head to look at the group. Biograft hesitated, then spoke up.
“FOR THE GLORY OF ALL.”