This is the last chapter of Mecha Saga! I'm glad I finally got to finish this story I had planned two years ago!
What was once a thriving corporate city now stood in ruin. Maddy held a weakened Rilldo by the neck and channeled Paper Haki, allowing Emily to end him with a Liquid Metal Slice. Sheila overpowered Baby with her Sunny Fist of the Seven Seas, a sensation that made him feel like he were flying around the whole world seven times. But on the return trip home, Sheila was ready to welcome him in the palm of a giant Light Hand. She closed it and crushed him… and the blinding visual in Baby's goggles felt like he were burning in a real sun.
Androids 17 and 18 were shorting out before Nagisa and Morgiana. "You struck at my power circuits… without harming my brain or heart… Why…" 17 asked.
"Because deep down, you're a living being." Nagisa smiled.
"Indeed… we were human once…" 18 said. "But… would you really consider us 'alive'?"
"I don't know." Morgiana replied. "What would you rather do right now?"
"…I would rather… go to the mall… and buy all the pretty clothes I want."
"I'd rather… be shepherding animals… on a nice farm…" 17 said.
"Yeah, well… I'd rather be chillin' at school and tossing stories around my classmates." Nagisa laughed.
"I'd rather be running laps around the desert." Morg said. "And stuffing my face with fish. And simple desires like that…"
"-make you human."
17 smiled. His eyes began to dull. "My name… is Lapis…"
"…Lazuli…" 18 closed hers.
Their energy systems shut down… and the robots slept.
Cheren and Astro stood atop the sparking bodies of Gero and Myuu, checking in with the statuses of their operatives. Pythagoras of Sector Vega and Robotgirl were destroyed, but everyone else only seemed tired out of their minds. "They didn't hold back on the budget for these mechs." Cheren said. "They would've been a good runner-up for an Emperor crew. Which is why I hope they'll stay down for good."
Astro's assistant, EVE flew up to their level. "Supreme Leader. Team Prime and the Earthling allies are pursuing Mom. They have discovered a bizarre underground chamber and believe it may…"
The two leaders perked up. EVE translated Astro's words to Cheren. "I must go now. I will request any ably functioning operatives to join me."
"I'll leave it to you. We got things covered here."
Heart of Mechanos
The operatives had to admire the beauty. They had fallen deep beneath the planet's crust and landed in a vast cavern. The stalactites, 50 meters high, seemed to shimmer with soft, blue reflections against their damp surface. The W7 girls happily held their hands out to welcome a few gentle, cold droplets. …But they couldn't feel them. "Hey… this isn't water." Aisa's keen eyes saw them for what they truly were: droplets of data. Just very tiny 0's and 1's.
"Ahhhh." Jenny sighed as the droplets tickled her circuits. "This feels so nice."
"I am feeling less glitchy by the minu—ute!" Penny grinned.
"Tehehehehe!" Bender giggled like a little kid in the sprinkler.
The ops traveled a few miles in the echoing caves before approaching some kind of towering structure. "Whooooaaaa…" It was a tremendous robot with a wide frame and horns on its head; though the left horn was snapped off. "Now that's… a big robot." Mocha said.
"It's not the only one!" Vweeb called. "Take a look around!" There were giant, scattered pieces of another robot. They saw an ankle, a hand, what looked like body components… then, the group approached its fallen head.
"Hah!" Bender stepped up to the head and faced his friends as he thumbed it. "Look how big his mouth is!" The group fell back in shock when the giant's eyes glowed white. "What does he use that for, chewing gum?"
"Hello…"
"YIPE!" The giant's soft, echoing tone compelled Bender to zip away on the spot. "I'M NOT GUM!"
"It's still alive!" Pino exclaimed.
"Who… are… you…?" the Iron Giant asked gently.
"We are… Kids Next Door?" Jerome answered.
"Kids… Next…" Its eyes sparked. "That term… is… familiar… but… memory banks… in error…!" They lit up again. "Emet! There you are! Emet!"
They turned to the other giant. "That thing's name is Emet?" Apis asked.
"Emet… is… friend…"
"Where did the two of you come from?"
"I… Data unavailable… but Emet is… friend… Emet! Emet! Why don't you boot up… Emet…"
"You wouldn't be guardians of Motherboard, would you?" Jenny asked.
"Mother…board? Ah…yes… Motherboard… Project…"
Aisa gasped, turning right as she felt a powerful presence. "Guys! I-I think we better catch up to them! Hurry!" Though it hurt to end the investigation so abruptly, they followed the Shandian's instincts.
Mom and Senator Armstrong descended a sloped ground around a gaping chasm. The data of the stalactites dripped and formed a colossal, humanoid shape. It was thin and feminine, with waves of bright, cyan hair. Her body was white, with a blue face and chest. Her irises opened to meet her awestruck visitors.
"It hast been an age since last I held users in my server."
"…An ancient deity of legend, yet she keeps up with the machine talk." Armstrong rolled his eyes. "Ain't you a little too old for that?"
"Astounding… Are you really Motherboard? Who even created you?" Mom asked.
"Many eons ago… a research station discovered a powerful star on this dead world. They doth try to harness its power in the hopes their wishes be met. The star became one with the station's computer… but therein lie the tragedy. A terrible catastrophe… Thus, the station did crash into the world. Its power seeped into the world's Heart… and I was born. And hence did the machines of the cosmos feel a kinship with this world eons after that."
"Huh…ya ain't talking about one of those Star Pieces them Irkens were trying to find, are ya?" Armstrong asked.
"I don't care if it's a Star Piece or a crackhead's tooth!" Mom shouted. "Can you grant wishes or not?!"
"Only to those with skin and hearts of metal wilt I let their desires be met. But my programming is not almighty. Only wilt I grant wishes that benefit the recipient directly."
"Then I just need to bring my robots down here. They'll become stronger than ever with your wishes!"
"Be forewarned… thou must be ready to accept the price."
"Hah! Wishes don't come cheap, do they? And just how much do you want?"
"THERE they are!" Chimney's voice screamed.
Mom and Armstrong grit their teeth at the incoming interlopers. "WHOA!" Aisa screamed.
"Who is that?!" Mary asked. "She's beautiful!"
"It…It's really her." Pino wanted to tear up. "Motherboard…"
"BACK OFF, you pathetic pissants!" Mom shouted. "You aren't stealing my wishes!"
"Motherboard isn't for you!" Jenny argued. "Her wishes are for ALL robots!"
"Darn right!" Bender said.
"But preferably good robots." Vweeb noted.
"Awwwww."
"On the contrary," a new voice drew their attention, "Motherboard belongs to ME!" A certain insectoid queen appeared in the air.
"Vexus!" Jenny glared.
"With but a single wish," Vexus ripped open several portals, summoning hordes of Cluster minions and stray Eggman robots, "I will have this whole planet under my dominion! The Cluster will RISE again!"
"The hell it will!" Mom began to don a mechanical suit: a pair of digi-glass butterfly wings spread from her back, while her suit was elegantly patterned. "I own the monopoly on ALL robots! None may have this power unless I wish it! Disneybots!" She took flight and dumped dozens of robots out of her Infi-Cube. "Put your iconic asses to work and trash these—DAH!" A Starburst struck her.
"The only people who deserve these wishes," Jerome flew at her level, "are the operatives who worked hard to collect the Mother Chips. They shall see their dreams realized… and we will make sure no people like you ever do!"
"That's right, Vexus." Jenny flew to meet her nemesis. "Let's end this once and for all."
"I wouldn't wish it any other way, XJ-9…"
"You want the first ass-whoopin', ya soccer-skinned snot, so be it!" Mom sneered. "You'll be a great test for my Momarch suit!"
"We'll take care of the minions!" April yelled. "But we'll chip in if you need it!"
"Well, this is gonna get messy." Armstrong said. "This calls for some sweet tunes!" He pulled out a tape recorder and played "The Stains of Time" from Metal Gear Rising!
Boss fight: Mom and Vexus
Mom flapped her wings at Jerome, spreading a cloud of electrical pollen. Jerome opened a vortex to suck the pollen in, but the tycoon would ambush him with an overhead kick. Her antennas fired a storm of lasers, forcing Jerome against the ground. The Zathurian used a vortex to redirect a laser right back into her shoulder. Jerome flew up and lashed the Z.A.P.P., the Momarch suffering the first hits before folding her wings in defense. Jerome warped behind her and threw a B.O.O.M.E.R., but as she reeled back from the damage, Mom released a swarm of smaller robot butterflies. The butterflies fluttered to and latched onto Jerome, and he feared what they threatened to do.
"I got you covered!" Apis assured, using telepathy to command the butterflies to fly off him. "Or should I say uncovered." They returned to Mom and exploded into electricity. She was stunned long enough for Jerome to pelt her with Starbursts. The enraged Momarch spun like a torpedo, her wings casting streaks of light from the motion as she drilled into Jerome. She plowed him into the ground as the Zathurian formed a Block over his stomach to mitigate the pain. Mom flew off him and released Electro Pollen, but Jerome warped out of its range in time.
Mom quickly tracked him toward her left and spread her wings open. The insides of her Momarch wings shone bright ring shapes, and began to fire rings of energy at a rapid pace. Jerome evaded as well as he could while throwing N.I.N.S.T.A.R.s in retaliation. One of the rings made contact and squeezed him, dragging Jerome to the ground. Attempting to warp would only take the ring with him: it seemed Mom specially designed them that way!
"How about I clip those wings?!" Aeincha flew up in her Dragonfly Glider and barrel-rolled against the Momarch wings, the sharpness of her own wings damaging them. Mom about-faced the Lilliputian and shot more of the rings, but with her smallness, Aeincha cleanly dove between the rings and slashed the wings right against the rings' spawn points. Mom was unable to generate more of them, but she would have her revenge on Aeincha by summoning butterfly drones. Apis tried to manipulate them again, but these ones had stronger protection.
Fortunately, Jerome recovered in time to swat the butterflies down with the Z.A.P.P.! He then enforced gravity over the woman and grounded her. Jerome landed with her, putting up a Space Block as Mom bombarded lasers at him. Jerome threw a F.L.I.P.S.B.Y. behind him and warped it: it reappeared behind Mom and flipped her right on her head. He then tossed out a couple T.O.P.M.A.N. to bounce the president around. Mom recovered in a rage and lunged at Jerome with a burst of electric pollen, stunning the Zathurian down to his nerves. But before we see how he deals with that, let's look at Jenny's side of things.
Vexus linked her legs together into a stinger, homing in on Jenny like a drilling missile. Jenny shaped her own pigtails into a drill and grinded directly against the tip of Vexus'. Ultimately, Vexus felt the faltering in her heels first and broke away. The queen threw hives that exploded into swarms of hornets, blotting Jenny's vision and riddling her with punctures. She erected a bug-zapper on her head to eradicate them, but Vexus managed another Drill Kick into her gut. Vexus ripped open a rift and cast a stream of Locust Drones. Vexus planned to stab her while Jenny was overwhelmed by the bugs… until a pair of extended arms grabbed her. "Alley-oop!" Bender flung at Vexus like a slingshot. He kept his grip on her after the impact as he stretched his legs high above and STAMPED down onto the queen.
"I got bad news for you, queenie!" Bender said as he landed beside Jenny, who narrowly swat the locusts away. "Usurping royals was my 13th hobby!"
"Don't remind us." Vweeb eye-rolled.
With a furious rasp, Vexus spread her Acne Gas, causing Jenny to break out in pimple-bolts and Bender to develop braces. "AW, NUTSTH!" he yelled with a lisp. Vexus electrified herself and zipped around with great speed as she stabbed both foes with her heels. Bender managed to grab the queen amid one thrust, suffering the electrocution as he bent Vexus' heel right into her own butt. "OOOOUUUUCH!" It turns out, bees can sting their selves. Jenny struck her with an Extendo Punch, but Vexus quickly closed the gap between them. They engaged in close combat, with Vexus' claws carving Jenny's armor. Jenny divided her right arm into three with Shiva Swords, clashing Vexus' claws with ease and striking her in the eye and stomach.
Vexus spewed balls of super-sticky honey and glued Jenny down. It had the strength of superglue, rendering Jenny helpless to Vexus' laser fire. Bender propped his hands against the floor and stretched his legs, wrapping them around Vexus and slingshotting into the queen. He chugged a bottle of beer and belched fire on her face. Speaking of fire, Jenny emitted flamethrowers to melt the honey off and take flight. Vexus kicked Bender off her and flew as well. The queen extracted dozens of flowers and threw them like shurikens. Jenny tried to deflect them with Shiva Swords, but those flowers shot their petals off and scratched her regardless, even slicing off two of her sword hands.
Jenny reformed her right arm and stretched a punch at Vexus, but halfway toward her foe, she redirected it left at a tight angle. The arm then bent diagonal, down, right, straight, diagonal again, confusing Vexus all the while. While she remained distracted by Jenny's arm, the teenage robot shot her boot out and stamped her in the teeth. Only then did her multi-angled fist finally decide to meet Vexus right in the crown.
"That's it! I need some extra protection! A queen shouldn't leave her hive, after all!" Vexus flew away and conjured a powerful hive-shaped barrier. She was able to send drones out through rifts, while Jenny flew around and examined the hive.
"Pino!" She flew down to her friend. "I see a small opening in that hive, but only you can fit in."
"You want me to go in and disable Vexus' barrier?"
"I'll stretch my arm in while you ride it. I need you to navigate me. We'll fish her out her together!"
"Affirmative!"
Mom saw Vexus put up the barrier. "That's not a bad idea." The tycoon flew a safe distance and conjured a giant cocoon barrier. "This suit needs some repairs!"
"You can't hide from me!" Jerome drew the V.I.S.S.I.L.E..
Jenny stretched Pino into the hive's opening. Pino instructed Jenny to bend down, go right and loop around 45 degrees, go down, go left and loop 90 degrees, and finally reach Vexus' center. Pino used the EMPlosion to daze the queen and dispel her barrier. Jenny saw Bender going to one side, so she flew to the other side: both robots stretched arms, grabbed Vexus, and slingshot into her, flattening her like a pancake!
Jerome fired the missile and used his gun's controller to guide it through an opening of the Momarch's cocoon. He carefully maneuvered around butterfly drones in the first layer; the second was crawling with caterpillars that connected lasers between each other; the third had more butterflies that would shoot energy rings. The rings were much trickier to evade, but Jerome narrowly succeeded and reached Mom's center. The missile burst, shutting down her barrier. Jerome thrusted his palm through a portal: a larger portal appeared above Mom as Jerome's gigantic hand flattened the businesswoman. (End song.)
Mom still lay flat as Jerome pulled his palm off her. "Uuuuuhhh…"
"We took care of the backup!" Mocha smiled victoriously.
"Then it seems we're nearly done here!" Jerome smiled. He and Sector W7 approached the aching president. "Ahem. President Carol Miller… the Kids Next Door will be taking you into custody now. You will tell us everything you know about King Mickey… and help us to expose his truths to the universe."
"Heh heh heh…you think because I worked with you once, I'll do so again?"
"It will be in your best interest to."
"Hey, Jerome… look." April drew his attention to Sector Prime. With the threat absolved… they had put all their focus on Motherboard.
The robots couldn't believe they were really looking at her. The legend they had searched all this time for… "Motherboard…" Jenny approached her first. "Are…Are the stories true? Can you make us into real girls?"
"If thou wish to have thine desire met… thou must offer the sacrifice."
The notion threw all the operatives into shock. "Sacrifice?!" Pino repeated.
"To have thine desire met is to be reborn… To be reborn is to call me Mother… To call me Mother… is to renounce the mother and father who birthed thee. Thou must offer their lives as payment…"
"What?!" Mom's eyes dilated.
"We…" Jenny and her friends felt the greatest horror, "…have to sacrifice our parents?!"
"That was never in the story of Pinocchio!" Pino shouted.
"Thou speaks of the long-nosed one? He doth find my domain many ages ago. And the heart of his father he didst pay." The truth was unbelievable to the pale-faced operatives. "It seems that truth never didst leave this domain."
"I can't believe it…"
"It's like… the gallery…" Mary muttered.
"That's cruel!" April shouted. "Why would you ask for that?!"
"'Tis in my design…"
"No!" Penny shouted. "I will absotively NOT do that! Tha—a—at would… be a terrible weight on my hu—hu—human heart!"
"Sigh…our friends are gonna hate this." Jenny bowed.
"But we must tell them the truth." Pino replied. "And we must make sure no bot… is tempted by this dark deed."
"Are you kidding me?!" Mom shouted. "How the sack am I supposed to profit off that?! I don't get jack shit when I'm—dee…aaaaahhh!"
The operatives choked at the sight: Senator Armstrong was firmly strangling the tycoon in his nanomachine hand. "Ah…ah…Armstrong… you… bast…"
Crack. Armstrong opened his fingers, letting Mom collapse like a ragged towel. None of the witnesses had any word for him. His cigar firmly locked in his smirk, Armstrong faced Motherboard. "…O Hybrid of Machine and Man… what is thine wish?"
Armstrong took his cigar in his fingers and raised it. "I wish my nanomachines possessed the properties of Conqueror's Haki! Enough to make any machine or fleshy bow to my will!"
"…Acknowledged."
Motherboard's cyan hair strands linked with Armstrong. His smile was bursting as powerful energy coursed through his veins. "Hahahahahahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! FEEL THAT HORSEPOWER, SON! That's nine million nanomachines of PURE POWER!"
"AAAAAHHHH!" Both the organic and robotic operatives were brought to their knees. "It's so strong!" Mocha grunted.
"It's not even as strong as K. Rool's!" Aisa said. "But it… feels like real Haki!"
"No! It isn't!" Pino said. "He sent some of his nanomachines into our bodies! They're generating powerful vibrations designed to weaken our nerves!"
"And it's a dang sight, isn't it?! With this power, I'll be Supreme Chancellor in no time! I'll have these machines reproduced in all our soldiers! We'll be INVINCIBLE!"
"Ugh…" Vexus groggily recovered from Jenny and Bender's attack. "My head… What's happening…?!" She looked to the bowing operatives and the powerful senator. "…I, um…think I better go." She mustered the strength to open a portal.
Armstrong shot his gaze toward her. He jumped and SQUASHED the former queen like the insect she was. "No one's leaving here without MY permission."
"FRIENDS! THERE YOU ARE!" They heard Arale's voice and twisted their heads back toward the hill. She was running like an airplane, leading numerous other robotic operatives, including Supreme Leader Astro, Aigis, Quatre, Uzi and N, Melody Locus, and Atlas. "How could you find Motherboard without me?! I'm so hurt, I could rebuild myself as a torture chamber!"
"Mocha!" Atlas called with a confident smirk. "Don't tell me you're tired already?!"
"Atlas…" Mocha was happy to see her rebuilt, but…
"ARALE!" Penny yelled. "You shouldn't be here!"
"AAAAHH!" The robots succumbed to Armstrong's power.
"No! The more the merrier, I say!" the senator laughed. "I'll tear up your memory drives inside out! You'll be fighting for ME from now on!"
"Grrrrr…!" Mocha looked to Atlas for strength. Her fellow giant, her spiritual sister she shared combat with… She had herself rebuilt and came all this way to keep fighting, only for this to happen. "…No they WON'T!" Mocha's knees sprung forth with newfound resolve. Armstrong turned, uncaring as the giant struggled to grasp him in her hardened palm.
"What do ya think yer doin', twerp?"
"It doesn't matter if your machines can replicate Armament or Conqueror's… attack us inside or out… because they can't replicate the will and experience we've built after all these years! Come on, guys! You can resist them! You can do it!"
"Huuuuuurrrr…!" She was right! After all they had endured from the Twenty Keys Quest to the Pirate Wars… the operatives drew strength from these moments! They planted their feet down and pushed up on their knees.
"I ain't letting some human chump… use tiny robots… to push Bender around, baby!" Bender vowed.
"I was controlled once…" Penny twitched. "I will not be controlled again!"
"What?!" Armstrong was dumbfounded as even the droids were resisting him. "Dammit! Their own nanomachines are fighting with mine! What the hell, you old bat?!" he yelled up at Motherboard. "They were supposed to make anyone bow to my will!"
"And so they didst… but my wishes canst only benefit the receiver directly. Thou art stronger… but thou canst not factor the strength of others."
"Our parents built us with wills of our own!" Jenny declared. "My emotions and embarrassments are my own! Mechanos was founded by robots who wanted to live their own lives! You can't overpower us so easily!"
"BAH!" Armstrong grabbed Mocha's hand and hurdled her away. "You dumbasses can barely stand though! I'll wipe the floor with you!"
Atlas flew to catch the giant. "Supreme Leader! Permission to activate Armored Interface Mode?" (Play "It Has To Be This Way" from Metal Gear Rising!)
PERMISSION GRANTED!
As the organic operatives pondered the meaning, their Mechanos friends turned to them. "Sorry, Aeincha," Pino picked the Lilliputian up, "but I must ask you to go in here!" A slot on her stomach opened.
"Whuh?!" Aeincha was placed inside. Components linked around her limbs and interlinked with her dragonfly suit. Its wings would grow on Pino's back.
Penny's body disassembled and reformed around Mary's body, the painting girl in wonder as the process happened.
"April." The artist turned to Melody, a gracious smile on her peach-painted face. "Thank you for repainting me. It's an honor to let you wear me." She disassembled and reformed over the artist.
"What is this?!" Jerome asked as Jenny reformed around him.
"Each of us had this feature installed when we became operatives." Jenny answered. "If ever our organic friends needed a boost, our nanomachines would reshape us and let us bond with their chi paths. You might feel pretty tired afterward, but right now, our wills have a better chance working together!"
"Then do what you must!"
"Mocha…" Atlas reformed herself over her Amazon partner. "I know using machines isn't what you wanted, but…"
"If it's you, Atlas, I don't mind just this once!"
Aigis became Apis' armor. F.I.O. and X.E.R.O.S. transformed into mechanical wings with feathers of light, allowing Quatre to fly.
And naturally, Chimney was ready to join up with Arale. "Hmm?!" Instead, the purple-haired robot smooched her, their lips melding together. ("What're you doing?!") Chimney tried to mutter.
("I can only fuse mouths together!")
("Whuh?!") Their faces pulled away as their mouths ripped clean off. They molded into a ball shape, turned yellow, and grew a big mouth. ("IT'S PAC-MAN?!")
"'Guess we don't have robo-friends." Miguel said to Aisa, blushing. "But I can use my music to enhance us!"
"You think these silly costumes are gonna make a difference?!" Armstrong ripped off his suit, exposing his hulking body of shiny, black, solid skin. "I'll show you what a real will of steel is like!"
World Boss: Steven Armstrong
The duo of Mochatlas earned the first round, blasting toward Armstrong with jetpacks as they shared rapid, tremoring punches. Mochatlas threw up her right foot and sent Armstrong skyward, but he quickly returned down and hammered the giant's skull into the ground. He leapt and aimed to crush her again, but his impact was several meters off its mark. April was using Melody's lasers to shoot red light-marks around the ground, confusing the senator's focus. Armstrong merely ripped that chunk of earth out of its foundation and hurdled it right at April, and if it weren't for Melody's armor, it would hurt a lot worse. Mochatlas sprung forward with another solid punch, but she felt stronger resistance before Armstrong sent her flying.
The Pinaeincha duo swooped around the senator, snipping around his armor with Pino's scissor-ears. "What, are ya tryin' ta give me a mohawk?!" Armstrong questioned as he tried to swat the pair away. "GAAAAAAH!" Penny's Floating Array stabbed around his body: powered by Mary's crayons, Armstrong suffered freezing, burning, and electrocution all at once. Armstrong furiously ripped out and threw the swords before sending the duo flying with a karate chop. "I see! Your pansy scissors are softening my steel!" He focused on Pinaeincha and clapped, blasting a shockwave to blow the tinies away. Pennary stabbed Armstrong's shoes with White Blades, gluing him momentarily while Jennerome blasted him with Starbursts.
Jenny stretched her arms through an array of Jerome's portals, forming a complex labyrinth of them around Armstrong. To stop him from attacking the arms, Astro flew into the complex and socked Armstrong in the jaw. "Yeah, keep hittin' me! I need more physical trauma!" He threw punches that Astro would dodge, the Supreme Leader blasting his face with a laser. It was then Jenny's arms grabbed his leg and neck from opposite portals: Jennerome split their selves in half with Space Split. Both halves went zipping through the alignment of portals on their respective arms' side. Their momentum increased until they SMASHED Armstrong!
Jennerome's halves reunited, but Armstrong, his veins pulsating with a sharper sheen, banished them with a thrust of his palm. He saw Aprilody shooting blue lasers at each of their friends, enhancing their strength. The senator stormed toward the artist, so Aprilody flew to the sky. She shot Pink Lasers to weaken the resolve of his nanomachines, as well as Green Lasers to soothe him. However, the senator remained strong, squat, and JUMPED with the force of a rocket. Aprilody panicked and flew backward, but Armstrong kicked off the air itself and followed. Melody knew impact was inevitable: she quickly disassembled the fusion and shoved April away. Quatre flew to break her fall… but they looked horrifically to Melody: Armstrong smashed her head clean between his hands. Her cracked eyes leaked tears as Armstrong tore her body to shreds.
"MELODYYYYY!" April and Jenny cried out in despair. Pennary, fueled with anger, chased Armstrong amid his descent and violently slashed him Water and Shock Swords. Armstrong withstood the pain, ripped the swords out, and punched energy spheres. The W7 girls saw familiarity with K. Rool's Haki Spheres; his improved nanomachines were able to replicate this as well. Pennary was struck by one and sent flying, but Jennerome would confront Armstrong on the ground and seize him in Lobster Claws. Jerome's spacebending shrank the claws and compressed their space, while Mochatlas sandwiched him between her hands. The senator blew them off with an explosion of Conqueror's Haki.
"HELLO!" N jumped Armstrong from the back, "Mind if I kill you?" landing clean slices with his acidic tail. N's eyes were an "X" and his fangs were bared. He was swift to dodge Armstrong's fists before thrusting his tail into his mouth… only for the senator to bite the point of the tail in his teeth. N was unable to pull free as Armstrong flailed him around like a mad dog with a chew toy. N was bashed around the ground several times before his tail dislodged and he was flung several meters away. "Now entering hibernative naptosis!" N passed out.
Armstrong charged after the drone and raised a foot above his head. "N!" Uzi tried to run to him, reaching her hand out in desperation in fear that she wouldn't make it. Then, her eyes became a symbol of three prongs around a hexagon: that same symbol shaped around Armstrong's ankle, stopping it from reaching N. "Wow!" Vweeb yelped. "She has psychicbending?!"
"No. I'm sensing nanomachines." Pino examined. "They are replicating telekinesis."
"Why didn't you use that against us?"
"Hey, it's my first time seeing it!" Uzi said. Armstrong struggled and tore free of the hold, but Mochatlas jumped and squashed him before he could take his revenge. Uzi relied on the same power to bring N over to her, while Mochatlas was sent flying once more. Pinaeincha returned and snipped her away around Armstrong, weakening as much of his armor as possible—the senator snatched her by the head. To make sure the others wouldn't stop him, Armstrong dashed up the hill and leapt. Pino quickly ejected Aeincha from her body and dedicated her final act to an EMPlosion. She could only hope it was enough: once Armstrong slamdunked her into pieces, it would be all she could wish for.
"PINOOOOOO!" Her friends were in tears.
"MONSTER!" Mochatlas' gloves boiled with greater Haki. She lunged at Armstrong with the jetpack and met him with punches and kicks that nearly ripped him inside-out. Mochatlas flipped in the air, jetted down, and began to press Armstrong into the earth with both fists. Astro supported them by burning lasers at the senator's knees, while Pennary spun a wheel of blades into his back. Pino's EMP had softened his armor just enough so that their united efforts began to hurt… and yet, their pure sheen was far from fading.
"YAAAAAAAAHHH!" Armstrong deflected Mochatlas' fists as they crashed into the earth, the shockwave spreading the group apart. And yet, two more giant fists flew to clash with him: Jenny's Fists of Fury. And thanks to Jerome's portals, the fists would strike Armstrong from several unexpected angles. Armstrong banished the duo with a solid uppercut, but Jennerome would flip into recovery as their fists became Mighty Mallets. They swooped down and smashed Armstrong between them: "Mallet VORTEX!" Jerome formed black holes on the mallets and spun Armstrong in an intense twister.
"Vweeb!" Pac-Mouth yelled. "Now it's our turn!"
"'Guess we're really doing this." Vweeb shrugged, riding atop the yellow ball. They closed in on Armstrong: just as the senator burst free of the vortex, Vweeb shrunk himself and Pac-Mouth.
They landed on Armstrong's body, a never-ending valley of nanomachines… but it was laid out like a Pac-Man maze. Pac-Mouth munched its way around consuming every machine in its wake, while Vweeb leapt around and punched some out of the air. "These are way tougher than that other guy's! How can you stomach them, Pac-Mouth?"
"Because I convert them into cubes of jelly to feed the slugs!" It was dropping said cubes behind, with happy little slugs coming to nibble them.
"Hold up there!" A big Armstrong head blocked them. "You think you can just waltz onto my body and make jelly out o' me?! Unlucky for you, my white blood cells have nanomachines, TOO, son!"
A brigade of beefed-up blood cells marched out. "That's why I brought Vweeb!" Pac-Mouth declared.
"What?! UUF!" The white Kateenian was gobbled up whole. Dozens of blobbish Vweebs began to mold from its body, their faces in agony. "AAAAAHHH! What is happeniiiiiing to meeeeeee?!"
"VWEEBSPLOSION!" Pac-Mouth popped the Vweebs around like firecrackers and pummeled the blood cells into submission.
"Huff…huff…" Armstrong held his chest in fatigue. The operatives observed him intently. …He lowered his hand and looked down himself: Armstrong's heart was exposed beneath the veins. It looked much smoother and shinier, with white hexagonal patterns. It was beating with the force of a steam-powered engine. "Hah…hah…" His excitement caused it to pound faster. "HAAAAAAHH!" He assaulted Jennerome with a storm of fists, the duo withstanding it with a Space Block mixed with Jenny's shield function. They warped as Quatre flew from behind them, piercing Armstrong with his light feathers.
Quatre took swift flight and threw more feathers. The senator kicked around the air in pursuit of the angel until a sharply-aimed energy sphere destroyed his left wing, sending him plummeting. It was then a storm of gunfire bombarded him: the Apigis duo. They outran Armstrong in the air, harnessing telepathy to speak with the ghosts of the butterfly and Cluster drones. They ordered the spirits to enter Armstrong's nanomachines, disassembling as many as they could despite their powerful will. Aigis charged her railgun and landed a direct shot on Armstrong's heart. Though the force was potent, the senator survived and swat them out of the sky. Apigis separated upon hitting the ground, both passing out.
"Hnnn…where's that coming from?" Armstrong could hear the rock-n-roll; it was powering those ones up just now. He shot his glare down at Miguel, rocking with all his vigor. His girlfriend blew a raspberry at him. The irritated politician sprinted toward them upon landing.
"I don't THINK SO!" Aisa raised her palm. Armstrong had absolute faith he could shatter her arm… and yet his fist was perfectly blocked. Blocked by Aisa's Impact Dial. Still, her arm strained trying to process the kinetic force. But she was determined: Aisa pressed the release, exploding Armstrong's force right back into him. The shockwave blew herself and Miguel back, knocking them out.
On his back, Armstrong saw Mochatlas descending for a slam-dunk, but he stopped her hardened fists. "Ya know, seein' you in these silly suits is actually a little inspiring!" He pushed her fists upward, leapt, and socked the giant in the jaw. "It proves that I'm RIGHT!" He sensed Jennerome swinging a buzzsaw, but ducked it and pushed them several yards back with his palm. "Imagine! Every poor sap in the fucking universe wearing suits like yours! Suits like MINE!" Jennerome rocketed back toward him, warping behind and slashing their space-infused buzzsaw. "Who needs Haki?! Who needs bending?!" He withstood the saw with his arm. "With this, everyone will be INVINCIBLE!"
Jennerome suffered the headbutt of a lifetime, stunning them dizzy. He turned to Pennary and deflected her swords with karate chops. "And when that happens, everyone will be free to fight their own battles!" He charged at Pennary with a round of clean punches, but she used her Gray Metal color to withstand the pain. "They'll be free to fight their OWN wars!" He grabbed the duo, hoisted, and slammed them headfirst in the ground. Astro launched over and shoved Armstrong away from them. "That way, NONE of them will have to fear this silly war," he grabbed Astro and forcefully bashed him against the earth, "that you… and Bowser… and MICKEY got us all wrapped up in!"
Jennerome warped to rip Astro from his grasp. The Supreme Leader looked to them with flickering eyes, his face cracked. "Don't you understand?!" Jennerome dodged his energy fists. "You won't be subjugated by them… or ANYONE! Nanomachines are the way of the future! The way of FREEDOM!"
"Huff…huff…perhaps…" Jerome fell to his knees. "I was wrong about you…"
"Jerome!" April shouted.
"Hahahahahaha! Did it finally click with you?" Armstrong straightened himself in a less tense manner. "I thought if anyone, you would. I'm sure your dad will agree, too. Why, if you kids had this power… you never would've lost anyone."
"Huff…" Jerome glanced up. …Bender and Uzi were sneaking up behind him. "Yes… at first, I thought… you were just another power-hungry politician… but no, you're… batshit insane!"
Armstrong was dumbstruck. But at that exact moment, Bender wrapped his limbs around the senator's and bent them. With Uzi's telekinesis as support, Armstrong's arms snapped against the elbows and the knees to the sides. "AAAHHH!"
Pennary thrusted her Crayon Array right into the ridges of his heart. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Mochatlas seized his head in her eclipsing hands and pulled with the last of their strength, opposite of Pennary's force. Then… the heart snapped free of its veins.
Jennerome caught it in their hand. It was still pumping. "AAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Compressing an extreme gravity field around it, combined with Jenny's strength, the heart's refined exterior grew rough… cracked… and released a blinding burst of energy and life.
"Aaaaahhhh…" Armstrong choked out the last of his breath. "Heh…you're fine… with the way things are? We'll see… how long it lasts…ack… because you'll be fighting… an endless war… All those sons of bitches who mocked you… who want to kill you… If you think you can keep fighting them… then you're… more insane… than I…"
His skin of steel became a human color. A pale color. Bender and the others released him. His body was now a limp sack full of tiny pieces of metal.
Jennerome, Pennary, and Mochatlas disassembled. They could barely stand afterward. But worse than the pain in their muscles… the scrapped remains of Pino and Melody, even Vexus and Mom's corpse. "…Did we even accomplish anything?" Jerome sighed.
Jenny turned up at Motherboard. If only they hadn't tried to find her… accomplish this stupid dream… "No…"
April approached them. "Well… we can't just leave them down here. But it's not gonna look good for us."
"It… might." Jenny said. "I, um…sort of… had my recorder function on."
"Hm?" Jerome cocked a brow.
"For mission documentation… This can prove that… Armstrong killed Mom… but I might edit out the rest of it for the public."
April helped Jerome to his feet. "…Those nanomachines inside him are… still dangerous. The army could extract them. Bender… take his body on your own ship… and throw it into the sun."
"…Well, I've always considered that as a hobby."
Rush Valley outskirts, that night
Dr. Watts and Mom's sons were arrested by the KND. They were forced to divulge the locations of Sector Prime's creators. The parents were rescued with assistance from other Earthling operatives, and Mom's factories trashed in the process. The wreckage of the Nimbus was investigated: Captain Brannigan and Lieutenant Kroker survived the impact and were picked up by the Galactic Army, and the dead bodies of Kamikazi, Constantine, and Dr. Locus were retrieved.
Pino's and Melody's scrapped bodies were buried outside Rush Valley, taking their place with other mechanical friends whose memory chips perished. A little, rusty, big-eyed robot named WALL-E planted flowers at each of their graves. Their fellow operatives, creators, and Earthling allies bowed in respect.
Jenny Wakeman stepped to the front. "What is 'death' for robots? Does mortality mean anything to us? That's something we've all asked. That is one of the foundations of our Motherboard quest. To experience the feeling of life… to truly feel like we are 'people.' Is it wrong to think that way? Is it wrong to sacrifice what we have, for something we think we need? I don't know… but I do know… the price may not be worth it."
Nora Wakeman felt so proud of her daughter… and sorrow.
"Cough, cough!" Pietro Polendina broke into coughs.
"Are you okay, Fa—ther?" Penny glitched.
"I'm, eh…ahem. Sorry. Please continue."
"In the end… we robots have souls, too. This is how our parents created us. It doesn't matter if we're organic or not. It is up to us… to decide how we live our lives. But like many mortals around us… we should only get one chance at life. We may get ripped apart and need to be put back together… but today, the friends we knew are… with Robot God. To replicate their code and put it in a new body… to replace them like some mass-produced model… would be an insult to their being. So… my friends…" Jenny faced the sky. "May you rest in peace."
Polendina Home
Penny rolled her father into his room. Being trapped in a factory for several days… the sight of home was warm. "Jenny's words… they were beautiful… weren't they, Penny?"
"They were…-er—er-e-e-er."
"You poor thing… I can't believe Watts would…COUGH, HUACK!"
"Are you s-sure you're okay, Fath—th—th—ther?"
"Sigh…I'm not, Penny… That factory was the worst. There wasn't an ounce of love in those Disneybots… and I think it… made my condition…COUGH!"
"It's alright, Father." Penny smiled. "My Earth friends have a great doctor. We can…"
"P…Penny… the way to Motherboard… is it still open?"
"Y…um…yes?"
"…" Pietro closed his eyes, releasing a gentle breath. "All a parent wants… is for their child to be happy. To let their dream come true."
"But I am happy, Father. I'm glad I get t-…t-t-t-te-e-e-e-e-e!"
"Penny… deep down, you really wanted to be human. The gentle breath of a planet… the warmth of the sun… the brush of the sea… I really want you… to know such things."
"Father… I don't need to be human."
"Yes… you do. You want to know… what precious mortality is like. And you don't want… some twisted senator to show you. You…cough, cough…"
"Father… I don't… want…" Artificial tears seeped from her glass, emerald eyes.
Pietro touched her hand. "It's fine… Penny… I… would have no more regrets…"
"…sniff…" Penny's embrace, even through skin of cold metal, was the warmest Pietro had ever felt. "Thank you… Father…"
Motherboard's Domain
The spirit had never expected so many guests yesterday… but it seemed a few more had arrived this morning.
Androids 17 and 18 dropped Dr. Gero before her. "What?!" He wondered where these two were trying to drag him. "It can't be! That's Motherboard?! The legend is really—AAAAAHH!"
Seventeen ripped his armored heart from his chest. He and his sister clutched it… and squeezed. Their creator died. "Brother and sister enslaved… what is thine wish?"
They were in sync: "To be human."
Nagisa and Morgiana awaited outside. That would be the last time they saw 17 and 18… and met Lapis and Lazuli for the first time. "So… know any good malls?"
"We might." Nagisa grinned.
Sector Prime base
Sector W7 were invited to stay here for the night. They, Jenny, Sheldon, and Arale heard the entrance door open. It was Penny. She stepped forward… but bizarrely, her steps were quiet. As robots, it was natural to make clanking steps. Only when their gaze fell to her bare legs did they have their answer.
"…Penny…" Mary spoke.
Her face was still damp with tears. It was a pain she would always carry in her heart. …But to feel such pain… to feel these tears… this is what her father wanted. She met Jenny's face… smiling with understanding.
"…Ahahahahahaha!" Mary tackled her friend to the floor. "You smell so nice!"
"Hehehehehehe!"
"Your hair is so fluffy!" Aeincha curled up in it.
"Your toes are so cute!" Aisa squealed.
"I have to draw this!" April said.
"Wanna do a dance with me?" Miguel asked.
"Oi, you're gonna crush her!" Chimney yelled. "She ain't used to this much weight!"
"She must experience the joy of PAC-FEEDING!" Arale began throwing a bunch of Vweebs to feed Pac-Man.
"I THOUGHT THIS GAG WAS DOOOOOOOONE!"
…
The "Galactic Map" zoomed in on Mechanos, which had the MomCorp flag attached to it. The flag toppled down, and a KND flag flashed in its place! This was followed by Donkey Kong victory music!