After traveling for about three hours, the sun had already set. The bandits had reached their hideout.
The hideout was built into the underside of a beached and broken cruise ship. It had multiple entrances that seemed to lead to different parts of the ship.
Two bandits broke off from the group and took a separate route inside. After walking for two minutes, they reached a large hall with a throne at the far end. A big, burly man sat upon it, wearing a long red robe. Under the robe was silver armor, and on his hip hung a silver sword that gleamed even while sheathed.
"Boss, our job was a success," said one of the bandits, kneeling.
"Casualties and wounded?" the boss asked.
"One dead. Two slightly wounded," said the other bandit, who was also kneeling. Unlike his companion, however, he was trembling.
"Worthless," said the boss.
In one swift motion, the bandit's head flew off his body.
Cling. The bandit boss sheathed his sword. The remaining bandit trembled in fear.
"Get out of my sight," the boss said calmly.
The bandit bolted from the room in terror.
Not far from the throne room, D-45 had been watching it all unfold. The unit recognized the weapon.
A plasma cutter, thought D-45. The sword emitted a thin line of plasma capable of slicing through nearly anything.
D-45 had one too—but his was more advanced.
"This is going to be tricky. We don't want to get hit by that sword," said D-45.
"How are we supposed to fight him when he has a fucking plasma cutter?!" Mariah hissed.
"Shh! Did you forget we're near a bandit hideout?" D-45 whisper-yelled.
Thankfully, they weren't close enough to be heard.
D-45 and Mariah were hiding on a nearby cliff, watching everything. Mariah hadn't brought binoculars, so she used the unit's left arm, which had transformed into a pair. D-45 didn't need binoculars—his eyes were already more powerful than any lens.
"So what's the plan?" Mariah asked.
"Tech that strong takes a lot of energy. We just need to steal or destroy his power source," replied D-45.
"So how do we find the energy source?" she asked. D-45 didn't respond—he just looked puzzled.
"We?" D-45 echoed. "There is no we in this one."
From those words alone, Mariah understood the plan.
"You can't be serious! I ain't doing this alone, no way."
The plan was for D-45 to cause a distraction while Mariah searched for the power source.
D-45 didn't answer, but the smug look on his face said everything.
"Make sure you don't overheat your new arm," he said before she left.
BOOOOOOOM.
An explosion erupted in front of the bandits' hideout—caused by none other than D-45.
"WE'RE BEING ATTACKED!" a bandit shouted, alerting the others.
The bandits grabbed their weapons and ran outside, where D-45 was still wreaking havoc.
"HURRY, HE'S TRYING TO TRAP US!" one shouted.
But it was too late. D-45 had already sealed the entrances by shooting strategic parts of the cruise ship, causing rubble to collapse and block the exits.
The bandits were trapped.
Then they heard loud footsteps. As they turned, a path formed among them.
"It's the boss!"
"WE'RE SAVED!" some murmured.
The bandit boss stepped up to the sealed entrance and unsheathed his sword.
CLANG.
With a single swing, he sliced through the steel fragments blocking the way. A path opened. But D-45 wasn't going to let them escape. He kept shooting down more debris to block them again.
Each time D-45 dropped rubble, the boss cut through it. Finally, annoyed, the bandit boss launched a plasma slash at D-45. The unit barely dodged it.
Thanks to that opening, the boss escaped the ship. As the other bandits tried to follow, D-45 collapsed more debris, trapping them inside.
"IT'S BEEN HALF A YEAR!" screamed the boss as he charged at D-45.
"Half a year?" D-45 echoed.
"DON'T PRETEND YOU DON'T REMEMBER ME!"
"Hmmm. Big, burly guy with a plasma cutter... nope. You'd think the cutter would at least stand o—BZZZZT."
Before D-45 could finish, a plasma slash scraped him, melting part of his right arm.
Another slash followed. D-45 dodged this one—but the boss didn't stop. Slash after slash rained down. D-45 avoided most but not all.
Meanwhile, inside the cruise ship, Mariah was searching.
"Where's this damn energy source?" she muttered.
After sneaking past several bandits, she found a power station.
"This giant thing is just to charge one sword?" she said aloud. It was a massive, box-shaped mechanical energizer, connected to a sword hanger.
She stared at it for a moment, then transformed her new arm into a flamethrower and incinerated the entire place.
"THE SHIP'S BURNING!" several bandits shouted.
But their leader didn't care—his focus was solely on getting revenge.
D-45 was in terrible shape. His right arm was melted, one leg was missing, and parts of his face were scorched.
As the boss raised his blade for a finishing blow—nothing happened.
"Out of juice?" D-45 taunted. "I don't need the plasma to kill you. And thanks to your arrogance, you didn't bring any of the gear from half a year ago."
The bandit boss stepped closer, looming over him.
"I brought someone instead," D-45 said.
The unit tilted his head slightly—just enough to dodge the hand that reached behind his neck. The hand morphed into a flamethrower and blasted the bandit boss's face.
"AAAAAHHHH!"
The screams echoed as the bandit boss stumbled back. His attacker was none other than Mariah.
"Oh boy, he really did a number on ya," Mariah said, looking at D-45's broken body. "Don't worry—I'll handle this."
"You disgrace your human body with that arm," the boss spat. He rolled in the dirt to extinguish the flames, but his face was still badly burned.
"I won't need it to beat ya. Your sword's out of juice." She charged.
He lunged with a stab—Mariah dodged and countered with one of her own. Her right hand transformed into a series of close-quarters weapons mid-fight.
Clang. Metal clashed.
Mariah was overpowering him. The boss had already sustained multiple stab wounds within a minute.
"You'd be nothing without that arm," he growled.
Mariah's expression hardened. She reached for her robotic arm.
Whoosh. Steam hissed as she detached it. Holding the arm in her left hand, she declared, "I'm more than enough without this."
She dropped the robotic arm.
"ARE YOU NUTS?!" D-45 shouted. "YOU COULD HAVE ENDED THIS ALREADY!"
"When someone insults your pride, prove them wrong. That's what my grandfather always said," she replied.
The bandit boss tossed aside his sword. "I'm too noble to fight someone unarmed."
"You'll regret that," Mariah shot back.
She was clearly at a disadvantage—he was nearly twice her size. But she held her own. In fact, she was winning.
"GO MARIAH!" D-45 cheered, amazed by her skill.
But technique couldn't fully overcome raw strength. The boss landed some devastating haymakers. Both fighters were bloodied, barely standing.
He threw one final punch. Mariah tried to dodge—but lacked the strength.
She took it head-on, staggering—but didn't fall. Then she launched her counterattack: a powerful punch to his ribs.
It punctured a lung.
The bandit boss collapsed, bleeding from the chest and mouth.
"YOU DID IT!" D-45 shouted joyfully.
Mariah could barely stand. She reattached her arm and lifted D-45 by the shoulder.
With the boss dead and the bandits trapped in a burning ship, their mission was complete.
"Wait—how did you get out of the ship?" D-45 asked.
"I blew a hole near the fire. The bandits can't reach it," Mariah replied.
As they walked back to the village, someone watched them from a distant cliff—a scout from the village.