Chihiro, Sihiri, Inochi, Vatra, Dej, Luz, and Nemir all frowned as they stood before a gigantic boulder that rested at the base of the cliff. Its thick stone surface's dull red coloration was brightened a little, tinted warmer a little by the sunlight that came from ahead. It was free of chips, dents, and scratches and looked pretty solid. It was at least enough that the very glance of it showed it would be a pain to move! Yet, the stone rolled away with little fuss as a faint purple glow enveloped it, and unveiled a dark tunnel bored into the cliff.

Sihiri wiped her hands and grinned, and Luz smiled with her as he summoned an orb of light with a simple gesture of the hand.

"Let's light this place up!" He chirped as he nudged the orb into the cavern with a soft push of his hand.

The warm, yellow light of the orb drifted further into the cavern. Luz prodded forward after it, taking only a moment to beckon for the others to follow. He hummed a tune, hands behind his back as the others walked in behind him. Only Sihiri paused for a moment to roll the boulder back in place, and dimmed the cavern until its only light source was the one Luz himself provided. The soft patter of Chihiro's footsteps as she hopped up beside him raised Luz's brow, and he turned around, stopping his song as he turned down to Chihiro.

"So, what's the plan?" Luz whispered, though it echoed a bit louder within the silent confines of the cave.

Chihiro waved a hand, and brought out a replica of the underground crafted with bright cyan light. Its own luminescence tinged the cavern walls in shades of green as it mingled with the orb Luz created. It flickered in and out a bit as it came into existence, but quickly stabilized as a small group of white dots formed in a tunnel near its entrance.

"So, this is where we are right now," Chihiro said as she pointed to the group of white dots, and dragged her finger across the tunnel, "and this is supposedly where the records are kept. Chances are, there'll probably be a few tech support drones there keeping all the records intact and stuff." Chihiro smirked and toyed with her suspenders. "Luckily, this part should be pretty easy as long as we're clever. All we have to do is fool them into thinking we're associates of Kaos's family, and they'll give us the location pronto!" With a snap of her fingers, the diagram disappeared and Chihiro turned back to the others. "Then, we can go there and smash the things to pieces! It's easy as pie!"

"And how are you so sure of that?" Vatra asked as he crossed his arms. "The longer we meander about, the more time this Kaos person has to go to Arkus, and that's assuming we don't make the security suspicious!" Vatra pointed a finger at Chihiro. "It'd be much easier to wipe out their security and check the records ourselves! Besides, a few drones shouldn't be much problem—"

"In your time!" Chihiro pointed right back and clenched her brows. "Tech’s advanced a lot since you were walking the earth, and I'll bet these guys are some of the fanciest they come! Getting them angry at us would take way longer than messing with their heads!" Chihiro shook her head and stormed off. "Anyways, come on, we've got no time to lose!"

Vatra scoffed as Chihiro left him behind, but a soft punch in the arm turned him down to Luz. His eyes flared with anger as he glared at Luz, yet Luz didn't even flinch.

"What's with you, Vats?" Luz asked, a teasing smile on his face. "Normally, you're the one getting on our cases about jumping in headfirst all the time!"

"That was before I found out we had Arkus to worry about and not some self-centered aspiring supervillain!" Vatra hissed back before he turned his eyes to where the others' light disappeared around the corner. Uncrossing his arms, he trailed forward and narrowed his eyes. "I don't understand why they'd put a child in charge of such a high stakes mission, especially one that's already jeopardized so much. Children that young should be staying and studying at home, not risking their lives on the battlefield! Besides, I'm not letting our efforts defeating him go to waste because—"

Vatra shuddered as his foot hit sleek, white metal, lifted his head and gasped!

The walls of dimly-lit rock turned to sleek, white metal lit with hints of cyan from veins of light in their tiling, and shone even brighter with added light from lamps embedded in the ceiling overhead. To the front, tall, sleek robots with black screens for faces and wheels for legs zipped to and fro. They organized cabinets and passed around thin tablets. Their vision completely fixed on the papers in their hands, and not once did it move from that spot.

The rows of cabinets themselves were more of a sleek black. Their drawers opened and closed without even being prompted, and stood filled to the brims not with papers or objects, but more thin, shiny tablets. Their sleek screens glistened underneath the light, and occasionally popped out projections of guns and elaborate contraptions. No talk came from any of the robots; it was just the faint sound of wheels turning and the occasional rumble from something overhead.

Vatra gasped. He craned his head in every direction as he stepped forward and drank in the sights.

"Even the Arkeyans weren't as sophisticated as this," he whispered.

He reached a hand out for a robot as he walked forward, but then, his wheel pendant bumped into something and he flew backwards! Collapsing to the floor, Vatra groaned and rubbed his head. He lifted it up right as the vague flash of a cyan wall vanished from view.

"Looks like it's locked," Chihiro remarked as she crossed her arms.

"Yes, yes, that's obvious enough to anyone around," Vatra replied as he jumped to his feet. "Surely, there's some kind of mechanism to…" Vatra turned his head aside, and grinned as his eyes fell on a simple platform with glass carved to look like a hand on it. "A-ha! Seems like it has a heat-based sensor system! I'll just take care of that!"

Vatra grinned as he placed his hand on the glass for a few moments. He turned to the gate and walked through, but grunted and flew backwards as the gate blocked him off once more! With a groan, Vatra jumped back up and went for the plate once more.

"Must be a bit broken. Let me try again," he muttered as he placed his hand on once more. Vatra walked for the gate, but right as his pendant hit it, he flew backwards once more and hit the ground!

Chihiro frowned and hopped over his legs as Vatra grunted. "Maybe it doesn't recognize you, since you're a ghost and all," Chihiro said as she reached for the plate. "Let me try it."

"No, I have this under control!"

Vatra pushed away Chihiro, snarled as he snapped his fingers, and lit a fire. "If it won't recognize my hands, maybe it'll recognize this!" Vatra cried.

"Vatra, wait—" Sihiri shouted as she reached for Vatra, but it was too late!

The flames hit the plate by the time she went to grab his arm! The metal on the plate caught fire immediately. The flames bent and twisted it, and the glass hand on it heated to a bright red. Smoke filtered through the cavern; it sent everyone into coughing fits as it tickled the ceiling, and sent sirens blaring through the room!

"Fire alert! Fire alert!" bellowed the sirens as the room turned red. "All employees, please take proper precaution as you initiate emergency protocol!"

Everyone let out sharp gasps as the sirens wailed. Dej immediately pushed past Vatra to toss out a burst of water and dampen the flames! The plate sparked a little from the exposed wiring that came to surface as the melted metal dripped off, but thankfully, the flames were gone. However, the sirens still blared!

"The fire's gone, so why are those unholy things still screaming?" Vatra cried as he covered his ears.

"I don't know! It must think there's still a fire!" Chihiro cried back.

She jumped over to the panel, where the tiniest of flames burst from the sparking, uncovered wiring. With a snap of her fingers, she crafted a magic bandage and slapped it onto the exposed parts of the plate! The flames extinguished instantly as the bandage wrapped tight around the panel, and the sirens finally dulled as the red light faded.

Everyone around breathed sighs of relief, and all eyes turned to Vatra as he gulped.

"Geez, that was too close!" Dej said as he nudged Vatra's shoulder. "Be a little more careful there! If those drones found us causing fires, who knows what they would've done!"

"You're one to talk about safety!" Vatra snapped back. "I distinctly recall—"

A faint warble caught Vatra's eye before he could speak further, and he turned back to the front… Right as one of the robots wheeled out and hummed.

"Strange," it beeped, its voice robotic and sharp, "why did the fire alarms go off if there is no fire? Maybe they need repaired?" The robot turned down to the tablet in its hand and tapped away. "Add 'Repair fire alarm' to monthly tasks…"

"Alright, let me handle this," Chihiro whispered as she leaned towards the others. Chihiro strolled in front of the robot, and waved her hand in front of its face, all while she forced the biggest smile she could. "Hello? Excuse me?"

The robot's screen flashed cyan a bit, and it lifted its head with a whir. "Oh, customers!" it beeped. The robot stashed the tablet away in a chest compartment before it clasped its hands together. "How may I help you today, esteemed customers? Having trouble with setup?"

"Actually, that's not quite it." Chihiro cleared her throat, and stared down at her first for a moment before she mustered a smile and stood tall. "I'm with the Kaos family. We came to check up on a security system thingie we purchased!" Chihiro gestured around. "You see, it's been really finicky lately. It'll just start up, and turn off at the most inconvenient times, and it, uh, sometimes it'll lock me out for no reason it all! It locked me out of my house when I went out to garden, and then it locked the fridge when I was getting something to eat… Oh, oh, and sometimes, it, er well, it constantly gets names and faces mixed up, and—"

Cyan dots flashed across the robot's face as it slouched over, and it propped itself back up. "Serial number?"

"Eh?"

As Chihiro blinked, a string of numbers flashed across the robot's face. "Each Troll Home Security-certified security system comes with a serial number. If you wish to have further help with your product, you will need to provide a serial number."

Chihiro hissed and backed away for a moment, but quickly shook her head. "Well, er, uh…"

A faint scent of smoke came from behind. Chihiro whipped her head around, and winced at the sight of smoke coming from Vatra's hands!

"Is there something wrong, esteemed customer?"

"N-nope, not in the slightest!" Chihiro sputtered as she turned back to the robot with sweat down her face.

"My sensors indicate intense sweating and heightened nervous reactions."

"That's just because the trip here was really long it hot! The ship we took had no air conditioning or anything, it was awful!" Chihiro cleared her throat and lifted her head. "Anyways, about that serial number…"

"Do you have a serial number?"

Chihiro rubbed the back of her head. "We, er, well, we didn't actually have one. See, they make us run all their errands, but they never actually tell us these things or anything! Employers, right?"

Those dots flashed across the robot's face once more. "If you cannot provide a serial number to prove your purchase, I am afraid that I cannot help you."

"But, shouldn't there be something under a Kaos family name or something like that? I mean, we've purchased it, so shouldn't there be purchase records somewhere in your robo-brain?"

"… Very well, I will check our purchase databanks."

The robot slouched over once more. A dialing tune came from its speaker as the dots flashed across its screen in a never-ending string.

"Phew, close one," Chihiro whispered as she wiped her forehead.

A few other sighs came from behind her, but Vatra frowned and tapped his feet.

"Just how long is this going to take?" Vatra asked. "The longer we stand around here the longer—"

Chihiro popped up beside Vatra in a flash of cyan light and shushed him. "Quiet!" she hissed as she turned back to the robot. "If that thing finds out what we're really here for, it might go ballistic! We've just gotta be patient and wait."

The dialing tune echoed throughout the caverns, a soft droning noise that paired with the running of wheels and opening of cabinets as the robot searched further. A few yawns came from the group as all eyes fixed on the robot, but even they slowly drifted away as the robot searched for what seemed like an eternity. Sihiri paused and crafted all sorts of magic objects, Luz toyed with light spells amplified by Chihiro's magic spheres, Inochi crafted flowers in the cavern's cracks and sent them away with a snap… Yet, Vatra snarled and gripped his cloak while the others idled. Embers burst from his fingertips as he gritted his teeth. For a moment, he raised a hand and prepared to fire off a fireball, but quickly pulled it down as the robot rose.

"There is a purchase record for a security system by a Kaossandra and Konkord of the East-Western Skylands," the robot droned. "Is this what you are looking for?"

Chihiro yanked her head around, jumped forward and nodded. "That's gotta be it! Yes!" she cried, rapidly nodding up and down with the biggest smile she could muster. "Just tell us where the thing powering it is and we'll be on our way!"

"I am afraid I cannot do that." The robot's eyes dulled for a moment. "Before I can show you the shield generating gun, you must provide proof of your affiliation with the buyers."

Chihiro blinked, drew back and stuffed her hands her pockets. "Give me a second," she said as she disappeared into the crowds of the other portal masters. A soft flash hidden by the sparkles of their bodies came out, and Chihiro returned moments later with a scroll in hand. "Here you go, word from the lord and lady themselves!"

The scroll unwrapped in Chihiro's gingerly grasp, and the robot marveled over it for a moment. "Physical proof accepted."

"Yes!" Chihiro stuffed the scroll away and strode along. "Now, if you can just show us that gun—"

"Now, please present your verbal proof."

Chihiro completely stopped in her tracks, her smile still fixed on her face as she blinked.

"Verbal… Proof?"

"Our protocol dictates that should an outsider want to see any security on behalf of a customer, they must provide verbal and psychical proof of the customer's permission. So, please present your verbal proof."

Chihiro winced, and backed away further as she hid behind Dej and Vatra. "Forging a person's voice is gonna be pretty tricky when I've never met them," Chihiro whispered as she held up her hands, "but I can try!"

Chihiro's hands began to glow, but that glow just as quickly faded as Vatra stormed past her. Fire lit in his eyes as he marched right up to the robot!

"We don't have time for your protocols!" Vatra exclaimed as he shoved his face in the robot's as he held up a burning hand. "There's a hot-headed supervillain of a free magician running around, and he has his sights set on reviving the Arkeyan empire for his own gains! If we can't break through his security and stop him, we could very see an Arkeyan revival on our hands!" Vatra pushed himself further in the robot's face until his very reflection sparkled in the robot's visor. "is that what you want? A revival of the Arkeyan empire's tyranny?"

The robot wheeled back and began to sputter as a rain of ones and zeroes cascaded down its visor! A few of the other robots paused what they did, and turned to the robot as it propped itself before Vatra and held its hands up. Heck, some robots even wheeled to a suspicious switch behind the robot—an alarm, perhaps?

"There, there is nothing in my protocols for handling supervillains or Arkeyans, esteemed customer," the robot sputtered. "Please try one of our support networks for your issue—"

"TRY THIS, THEN!"

Vatra grunted as he slung a flaming punch right through the robot's face, shattering its visor and sending broken bits of glass flying around him! Sparks burst from the severed wiring inside the robot's broken head, and the sounds of dulling, distorted voices echoed from a corrupted voicebox inside the robot itself. Smoke coated the entire hole as it fell backwards onto the ground! The robot's head exploded the moment it hit the cold, metal floor, and the other robots gasped as they rushed right up to it!

"Intruders detected! Forced eviction programming, activated!" the robots all bellowed as one.

Angry faces of red flashed across their visors as their body parts twisted and turned, stretching out and expanding as they grew larger and beefier! Cannons burst from their chest panels and shoulders, shiny helmets topped their sleek heads, and spikes ran down the fronts of their wheels. Guns and swords found their way into the robots’ hands as they all banded together, and the visors on their faces turned thin and sharp. The robots all squeezed their hands for a moment just to get a proper feel for their newfound weapons, and they charged right for Vatra with a cry!

The rest of his group winced as they stepped away. Their hands held up as if they readied shields, but Vatra smirked as he lifted up his own still-flaming hands.

"Is this the best you can do?" Vatra sneered. "I've dealt with drones like you in my sleep!"

With another grunt, Vatra punched his hands forward and sent large, flaming fists rocketing towards the oncoming drones. The moment his flames hit the robots, they exploded into puffs of smoke and embers before disappearing! Not a single singe mark or dent was left on the robots' slick and shiny chests as they came in for him and the rest of the group. The robots refused to relent, not even as they crushed their fallen friend's body underfoot and sent it exploding!

Vatra gasped; he slid away from one robot just as it swung at him with its sword, and a sharp crack hit the air as another knocked him backwards! Vatra grunted and hit the cold metal of the office's inner workings as he groaned and rubbed his head. He peered down at the scattered shards of light around him, looked back up at the office surrounding, and grinned.

"Alright, so you're fireproof! That's never been a problem before!" Jumping to his feet, Vatra slammed his palms against the wall, and smirked in spite of the sweat crawling his brow. "Just have to turn up the heat!"

The lighting of the room turned red as intense heat seeped into the walls. It melted away their metal to reveal red stone underneath. Around the room, the file cabinets melted and warped! Smoke started to filter in the air and send a few into coughing fits behind Vatra, yet he stood stagnant. His hands pressed firmly against the wall as he glared at the robots!

The robots beeped and charged right for him, their spikes digging trenches in the malleable and hot metal of the floor. Not even the intense heat stopped them! They remained lighting fast as ever, and charged and swung for Vatra in only a moment's time with no signs of wear or tear!

Vatra grunted and jumped away. He stomped his feet with a growl, and sent a small shock wave through the floor! The ground rumbled as miniature red stone volcanoes burst from the floor, and with a snap, lava burst from them and seeped into the trenches the robots dug! The lava trailed quick towards the robots, latching onto their wheels and legs and warping them at last. They melted slightly, and twisted in a canopy over their wheels as those wheels began to deflate!

Vatra grinned for a moment, but grunted as lasers pierced right through his body and knocked him into the wall! His pendant turned a much shinier crimson and radiated with heat as he screamed out. He slunk down with red sparkly smoke bursting from the holes in his body. The lava he created faded away as the volcanoes sank back into the earth. Vatra keeled over; he fell on his knees, and then face-first on the ground as he gritted his teeth. He clutched his arm tight as he grunted and held back screams. The smoky plumes that burst from his body grew thicker as his form fritzed; they spread out like a glitched projection, and returned back to normal before they flickered again not moments later!

"Vatra!" Sihiri cried.

Chihiro teleported forward in an instant, popped beside Vatra, and propped him against the wall before she lifted up his pendant. She squeaked a bit as its hot crystal burned her fingers, but quickly clasped it as her hands glowed cyan and magic poured into the holes. Veins of cyan magic quickly plugged the smoke, and Vatra's projection stabilized as he heaved heavy breaths and sweated.

"See, this is why I want to keep things on the down-low!" Chihiro hissed. "I knew these guys wouldn't skimp on security."

"Heh, would you look at that!" Luz chuckled as he teleported beside Chihiro. "Mister serious is the one getting in trouble for once!"

"Quiet, Luz!" Vatra hissed. One of his eyes shut for a moment as he staggered back up, and he clutched his chest as he stumbled a bit before he finally leaned more to his left side. "After all…" Vatra hobbled forward, and still favored the left side as he forced himself to full height. He held out a hand that crackled and popped with embers. "Those robots aren't showing any sign of slowing down!"

Chihiro grimaced. With a flick of her wrists, magic swords flickered into existence below her! Chihiro snatched the swords from the air and screamed as she turned them to gigantic cleavers with a single swing. She cut through the robots' ranks, and left halved metal carcasses in her wake as she kicked them back into the crowd! A string of explosions rang around the area, and painted the office in warm shades as fires started and extinguished just as quickly. Chihiro stepped back. Her lips pursed as her eyes drifted back and forth. The sound of a shaft opening above her turned her head up, and she screamed and teleported away as another fleet of guard robots poured down from the ceiling!

Chihiro gritted her teeth as the robots fell down before her, and tossed her cleavers into the air. The cleavers exploded into masses of magic, and shifted to the form of a bow with swords for arrows as they landed back down. Chihiro snatched them up; she screamed as she loaded and fired away, hands nimble and slick as she summoned sword after sword and fired them into the crowds. They skewered the robots and knocked them backwards—but for every one she severed, two more took its place!

The other portal masters frowned as they dashed into the fray. Their heads held high as their pendants sparkled in tandem with the raw magic that glistened at the hands, all just waiting to be molded in combat.

The sight of them drew Luz away from Vatra's side with a grin, and Vatra himself tried to join. The moment Vatra stepped forward, he fell to his knees! Shallow breaths escaped him as he crawled back to a corner of the room and leaned against a warped file cabinet. He clutched his chest and grimaced as he lifted his head.

Before him, Sihiri flung out hands that glimmered with purple magic, and her eyes set on a pair of robots that charged towards her! Sweat beads rolled down her face, and her teeth gritted tight as her arms shivered. The robots stopped in their tracks before her. Their arms and legs shuddered and strained as Sihiri shuddered further. Sihiri's eyes narrowed, and she spat out strained grunts as she rotated the struggling robots towards each other.

She forced them on a crash collision as they each sped for each other, but at the last minute, Sihiri's eyes turned wide as she gasped and fell to her knees! She hunched over and panted as the spell over the robots lifted. She herself lifted her own head in turn as the robots screeched and charged for her!

Sihiri teleported away. In her place, she left large purple crystals that quickly formed into suits of knightly armor armed with lances! The robots grunted and beeped as they slashed the suits with their swords, but the suits turned around and slashed back. The sound of blades crashing and magical whooshes surrounded the entrance as robot and suit alike fought. Yet, as the robots battled away, neither one noticed Sihiri as she popped up behind them. She nailed them in the back with large spheres of magic, and the robots cried shrill, glitchy shrieks as they swayed back and forth.

Sihiri swept backwards. "Dear, now!" Sihiri cried as she turned to Inochi.

"Understood, darling!" Inochi cried as she held out her hands.

A burst of green glowed from Inochi's palms. That single burst turned to thin vines of green light that grew larger and thicker; they solidified into actual thorny vines that whipped around the robots and squeezed them tight! The vines slammed the two robots into each other until they became dented and twisted, and finally slammed them full-force into the walls! Holes smashed in the stone as the robots exploded, and their parts flew in fifty different directions as the flames ate away the vines.

A robot head flew towards Inochi. She gasped, ducked, and swept aside as another robot nearly nailed her with a gun's laser blast! The blast tore a hole through a filing cabinet instead. Inochi scoffed as she stomped the ground, and she sent giant flowers leaping from the rock instead! Thick green roots quickly sealed the ground's cracks as the flowers' petals unfolded, and the flowers themselves shuddered and twittered before they shot out rounds of large nuts.

The nuts slammed right into the chest of Inochi's robot attacker, yet all they did was bounce off like rubber balls with not a single dent left! The nuts cracked open as they hit the floor. Their inner fruit smashed to bits as the robot zoomed past the flowers and sent them fluttering! The flowers twisted around, still pelting the robot despite the lack of damage their attack did. The robot veered away, and left the nuts to fly towards Luz as he shouldered robot attacks with his shield!

Luz gasped as the nuts came in. He jumped from spot to spot as the nuts bounced off robots and smashed into walls behind him! He jerked his head to the right as one came in, raised his shield, and prepared to spin it while its core glowed bright. He planted his hand on its rim, but a robot charged forward and punched him in the gut! Luz grunted as he flew backwards and tumbled across the floor; he hit searing hot metal, jumped up and yowled. Luz staggered back up, and with a wave of his hand, bright, searing light burst from the walls and blanketed the area!

Screams and beeps came from all around. Though the white-hot light was so bright, the sight of the robots swerving around and bumping into each other could just barely be made out! Luz chuckled. The light consolidated with another wave of his hand, and transformed into solid lasers that rocketed right into the robots' chests. The robots were so sleek that they reflected the light, and the lasers tossed into the walls and bounced across the room! Bright light shot across the room with every bounce, and sent everyone else screaming and covering their eyes!

Luz sharply gasped, stepped back and winced. "Alright, that did not go as planned," Luz hissed, before another laser shot into the wall beside him and burned bright as the sun!

Inochi winced as Luz screamed and shielded his eyes from his own attack before her. She gasped, and ducked behind a flower as a light laser shot right above her head. A bright flash of light shone before fading as the laser bounced away, and Inochi turned to the still-shining patch of metal on the walls it came from.

"The walls!" Inochi cried as she turned to the other. "They're reflecting from the metal on the walls! We have to stop them!"

In front of Inochi, Nemir held his own with a thick shield of bone as one robot slammed against him. Sparks flew from the robot's wheel as it ground against the shield with its sword, but Nemir tossed it off and grunted as he backed into Sihiri and Dej. Nemir gritted his teeth as another light laser shot above his crown.

"I'm afraid we can't do that, Inochi!" Nemir cried as his shield turned to a bony claymore in his grip.

Beside him, Sihiri prepared a trio of magic blasts while Dej created a crossbow of water and ice. All three pairs of eyes fixed on the robots that encircled them.

"Yeah, we're a little tied up at the moment!" Dej shouted.

He pulled back his crossbow and prepared to fire, but right as he did, a scream hit the air while something crashed down and sliced the robot clean in half! A flash of cyan came as the robot's two halves collapsed and exploded into flames. A childlike figure parted through the flames, and Chihiro grinned as she faced Dej!

Dej returned her grin with a wink, and the two of them turned around as they fired bows and magic blasts at the robots who shot back in exchange. Sihiri joined their blasts with burst of magic, and Nemir clubbed away as the blows knocked back the robots. Yet, the most their attacks did was dent the robots! The robots shifted back into gear, charged right for them and forced the four to run!

And Vatra, he just grunted and pushed himself up. The sweat that once coated his head evaporated long ago. Lasers shot around him and forced the rest of the group to duck, and his eyes turned to the walls.

"If they're reflecting off these walls," Vatra whispered as he slapped his palm against the metal, "all I'll need to do it melt them away!"

A red-hot glow burst from Vatra's hand as the heat seeped from his palm and into the metal. It painted the whole room in a hazy red as the heat cranked up! The metal of the walls and floor melted away, and the file cabinets started to sink and melt like ice cream cones on a hot summer day. The portal masters, once spry and agile, sweated and panted as they fell to their knees. The heat burned against their skin and amplifying the light of ghostly sparkles. As for the lasers, they shone bright for moment before they slammed into the rock-hard walls and exploded into sparkles!

Vatra beamed for a moment, but soon gasped and dashed away as flames burst right for him! He fell to his knees, and crouched below a melting desk for a moment as he gasped and clutched his stomach.

"Wait, where did those flames come from?" he cried.

Vatra lifted his head. He hissed first as he hit his head against the desk's top, and again as his eyes fell on the robots! They shone red-hot as they pulled out flaming swords and guns transformed into flamethrowers. Hot fire burst from every orifice as they charged around the room! One dashed right for Luz with a flamethrower ready!

Vatra gasped as he ran right in the path, and he slammed his hand on the barrel. "Not today!" Vatra cried as he squeezed the barrel tight!

Flames burst from tiny holes in the barrel, cut through its metal, and blew it up in both the robot and Vatra's faces! Vatra grunted as he slammed into the wall. His pendant phased through his body, and hit the wall before it swung back as he grunted. He snarled for a bit as something grabbed his arm, but loosened his snarl a bit as he faced Luz. Just before he could speak, another flaming pillar burst and the two of them ducked underneath.

"We've gotta get outta here!" Dej cried as he dashed ahead.

"Quick, there's a door over there!" Chihiro cried, pointing ahead as the others dashed behind her.

Vatra snarled as his eyes fixed on the robots that chased after them. He and Luz pulled themselves up, but Nemir grabbed them both by the arms!

"Nemir, let me go!" Vatra protested, and yanked against Nemir's grip. His eyes refused to move from the robots that still chased them. The robots tossed out flames that nipped at his and Luz's heels with every spin of their wheels, and Vatra snarled. "We—"

"Have no chance of winning against those things, not in this state!" Nemir cried.

The door flung open before him, and Nemir pulled Luz and Vatra in with a single tug.

"Come on, we have to go!" was the last thing Nemir cried as the door swung closed right in front of the robots' faces!