Robot Crustaceans

Marie, accompanied by Gin and Dani, the two scientists from Unit O, advanced steadily through the hallways. The bluish flashes of their weapons illuminated the path as they deactivated enemy robots with surgical precision.

"Hurry up," Marie instructed them, her voice tense but controlled. "We need to figure out what happened to Agent B-12 and locate their whereabouts."

She raised her weapon and began firing at a group of approaching robots, reducing them to twisted scrap metal. Then, she adjusted the shotgun slung across her back—a gift from the leader of Unit O, Omar—ensuring it was ready for when she needed it.

As they walked, a worker appeared running down the hallway, visibly agitated.

"Miss Marie! Thank goodness you're here! We've been fending off the machines with the weapons you provided, but..." The man pointed to the floor behind him, where a young man lay groaning in pain. A crimson stain spread from his wounded leg.

"I've already applied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding," the worker explained, wiping sweat from his brow, "but he needs urgent medical attention. We wanted to take him to the infirmary, but it's infested with killer machines. We can't go in alone."

Marie quickly assessed the situation. The injured man was young, barely a rookie, and his face was pale from shock and pain. Without hesitation, she nodded decisively.

"Alright, leave this to us," she said, loading a new cartridge into her heavy pistol.

The worker hesitated, looking at the three members of Unit O.

"But, Miss… There are so many of them. Just the three of you?"

"Don't worry, I'll handle it," Marie replied confidently, though her eyes betrayed the tension of the moment.

Gin and Dani exchanged nervous glances. Both were sweating profusely but tried to appear confident in front of the worker.

"Don't worry, we're very strong," assured Gin, though his voice trembled slightly.

"Alright, let's move," ordered Marie, adjusting her combat stance. "You two, cover me. The infirmary staff must be hiding. We need to get them out so they can tend to this colleague."

With a fluid motion, Marie split her heavy pistol into two smaller guns, ready for battle. She turned the latch on the infirmary door and kicked it open.

"Alright, use your flashlights," she instructed in a low voice. "Everything seems clear... but I think there's something up there," warned Gin, shining his flashlight at the ceiling. Medical equipment floated in the air, their robotic arms now converted into makeshift weapons. Syringes gleamed under the light, pointing directly at them.

"Watch out, Miss!" shouted Dani, pushing her just in time to avoid the syringes from hitting her. Fortunately, they struck the machine embedded in his chest, causing no harm.

"Lucky you!" exclaimed Gin, relieved but still tense.

"There's no time to waste," said Marie, quickly recovering from the ground. She muttered a low "thank you" before opening fire on the machines. The bullets echoed through the silence of the hallway, tearing apart the robots that tried to attack.

"Miss, but we're going to need those machines!" protested Gin, pointing at the smoking remains of the medical equipment.

"For now, we don't have time for that," replied Marie without stopping. "Later, I'll take care of buying new ones. Guess they'll have to come off of my salary."

They continued advancing, facing machines that sprang to life and transformed into armed robots. Finally, they reached a cabinet that vibrated slightly. Marie aimed her weapon at it, ready to fire.

"Wait! It's us!" shouted a voice from inside.

When she opened it, they found five people: two nurses and three doctors, all crammed into the tiny space. One of the doctors stumbled out, visibly relieved to see Marie.

"Miss Marie, thank goodness it's you! We thought we weren't going to make it."

"What happened here?" asked Marie, her tone serious but calm. "And what do you know about Agent B-12?"

The doctor swallowed before responding.

"Well, I was monitoring the tanks where Agent B-12 was being kept. Suddenly, we heard a metallic crunch, and these enormous pincers appeared out of nowhere. They ripped the tank from the system and took it away. After that, all the machines here started acting strangely… They turned into armed robots. Luckily, we managed to hide there while others tried to fight them off, but… I think they didn't survive."

"So, pincers…" murmured Marie, gritting her teeth as she mentally assessed the situation. "I hope the weapon Omar gave me works against those things. Alright, let's go," she ordered firmly, turning to Gin and Dani. "You two, get the medical staff to find anything that still works and assist the wounded."

"Yes, Miss," responded the medical staff in unison, nodding quickly before dispersing down the hallway.

One of the nurses paused for a moment and looked at Marie with concern.

"Please be careful," she said, her voice filled with anxiety.

"Don't worry, I will," replied Marie calmly, though her eyes betrayed the tension of the moment. With determined steps, she moved toward the door leading to where the B-12 container was supposed to be. Gin and Dani followed closely behind, though both exchanged nervous glances.

"What have we gotten ourselves into, Gin?" murmured Dani, audibly swallowing.

"Yes, but with Miss Marie, there's nothing to fear. She's very skilled and strong," replied Gin, trying to sound confident, though his voice trembled slightly.

"Stay quiet!" Marie whispered sharply, placing a hand on the door. She took a deep breath before pushing it open forcefully. Inside, the scene was desolate. The cables that had once held the B-12 tank sparked violently, sending electrical flashes into the air. The lights flickered erratically, creating dancing shadows that transformed the atmosphere into something straight out of a horror movie.

"I hope you're still here, Nick," Marie thought silently, feeling a knot in her stomach as she remembered Agent B-12.

As they pushed forward, Gin broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Miss, is it really safe to go in here?"

Marie turned her head toward him, her expression serious but controlled.

"It's fine. Besides, we have this," she said, pointing to the shotgun slung across her back.

Dani let out a guttural sound, as if trying to swallow his fear. Gin, on the other hand, tried to stay composed, though his hands trembled slightly. Even Marie felt a pang of fear, but her concern for Nick outweighed any other emotion.

They began to move cautiously, inspecting every corner of the area.

"There's nothing here," observed Gin, his voice barely audible. "Whatever was here is already gone."

"Exactly," agreed Dani, regaining some confidence. "There's no danger anymore."

But just then, from the ceiling, the lifeless body of one of their unit's scientists dropped. Both men screamed and instinctively clung to each other, frozen in horror. Before they could react, enormous pincers emerged from the shadows, dropping the corpse with a dull thud.

In front of them appeared a gigantic mechanical crustacean, the size of an average person. Its claws gleamed under the flickering lights, and from its metallic shell emerged more identical robots. In total, there were five mechanical crabs, advancing slowly toward them with menacing movements.

Gin and Dani were paralyzed on the spot, unable to move. It was then that Marie shouted:

"Down!"

With a swift motion, she tackled them like a rugby player, saving them from being caught by the robotic pincers. Both fell to the ground with a muffled cry, while Marie rolled over and sprang to her feet in an instant. She holstered her pistol and pulled the shotgun from her back. Aiming at the nearest crab, she fired.

"Die, damn crustacean!" she yelled, her words filled with determination.

Two bullets shot out of the weapon, hitting the robot directly. It exploded instantly, sending metallic fragments flying through the air.

"Wow! That weapon the boss gave you is impressive," commented Gin, awestruck as he regained his composure.

"I'd make a few improvements to it," added Dani, adjusting his glasses, "but no doubt it's powerful."

The robot collapsed to the ground with a crash, leaving a smoking hole where its "head" seemed to be. Without wasting time, Marie fired again, this time aiming at the body of another crab. To her surprise, the bullets barely made a dent in its armored structure.

"It seems their structure is very tough. Their only weak point is where their eyes are," observed Gin, quickly analyzing the situation.

Marie frowned, adjusting her combat stance.

"Guys, use your weapons to deactivate them!"

"Good idea," said Dani, activating his device. He aimed at one of the nearby robotic crustaceans, but it didn't even react. It began advancing toward them more quickly, completely ignoring the attack.

"I think it doesn't work for them. They must be operating on a different frequency," deduced Dani, sprinting to avoid being caught by the pincers.

Gin also tried using his weapon, but it was equally useless. Both began running in circles around the area, dodging the robots' attacks while Marie continued firing.

"Damn it! I only hit one, and there are still four left," Marie growled under her breath, dodging an attack as she reloaded her shotgun.

The mechanical crabs advanced relentlessly, slowly surrounding them. The metallic clatter of their legs echoed through the air, mingling with the panting breaths of Gin and Dani as they ran desperately.

While trying to keep away from the mechanical crabs, Gin tripped over a loose cable near where B-12's tank had been. The noise of his fall drew the attention of one of the robots, which turned toward him with its pincers extended, ready to strike. Gin froze, unable to move, when suddenly Dani came sprinting at full speed. He dodged the robot's attacks with surprising agility and, without hesitation, grabbed one of the scattered electrical cables from the floor. With a swift motion, he jammed it directly into the crab's "eyes," causing it to shut down instantly. Its metallic body collapsed with a dull thud.

"Thanks, Dani," said Gin, breathing heavily and wiping the sweat from his forehead. "I thought I was going to die at the hands of a crab robot."

Dani, still gasping for air, watched as the robot powered down and smiled with satisfaction.

"They can also be burned out with these," he commented, pointing to the electrical cables. "But we need something bigger to take all of them down."

Without saying a word, Gin and Dani exchanged quick glances, as if communicating telepathically. Both began frantically manipulating the scattered electrical cables on the floor, connecting them to the devices embedded in their chests. First, they carefully disconnected them, ensuring not to damage the equipment, and then used them to create an improvised system of mass electrocution.

Meanwhile, Marie continued firing and dodging the remaining robots, moving with feline agility. Her bullets struck the metallic shells, but the crabs barely seemed to notice. Still, she remained calm, assessing every movement with surgical precision.

"Miss Marie, quick, come over here!" shouted Gin from the crater where Agent B-12's tank had been.

Marie hesitated for a moment but decided to trust them. She ran toward their location, weaving between the robots trying to catch her. Just before reaching the crater, she performed a sweeping kick, sending small metal fragments flying toward the pursuing robots.

"Well, time to pay up," said Gin and Dani in unison, their voices a mix of nervousness and determination.

Gin pulled Marie into the center of the crater just in time. Then, he pressed an improvised switch, triggering a massive electrical discharge from the ground. The crab robots began sparking and smoking, their metallic bodies scorching until they became completely motionless. One by one, they shut down with a loud bang, leaving the area in an eerie silence.

"Thanks, guys. You did it," said Marie, visibly relieved, though her tone carried a hint of reproach. "But next time, warn me before you electrify the entire place."

"We're sorry, Miss Marie," both scientists responded in unison, nervously scratching the backs of their necks. "We had to think fast."

After ensuring all the robots had been neutralized, the team carefully inspected the area. That's when they noticed a huge hole in the wall, as if something had violently broken through from the outside.

"So this is how they got in…" murmured Marie, cautiously approaching the hole. "And they took B-12. But where to?"

"Damn it," growled Marie, clenching her fists in frustration.

At that exact moment, the radio they carried emitted static before coming to life. It was Omar, informing them that he had managed to recover all the security footage and that what he had found might deeply impact them.

Without wasting time, Marie organized the medical staff to tend to the wounded and gave specific orders to those still fit to fight to continue confronting the machines. Then, accompanied by Gin and Dani, she hurried back to Unit O.

Upon arriving, Omar projected the video onto an old analog cassette player. On the screen, they could clearly see the tank containing Agent B-12 being ripped from the system by enormous pincers. The camera captured Zeus, the mysterious villain, watching from the shadows with a cold smile on his face.

"That damn bastard!" exclaimed Marie, furious. "Why did he take the agent? He hasn't done anything to him. What is he planning?"

Her voice trembled with helplessness as she continued watching the footage.

"How could they get in here so easily? This place was supposed to be hidden."

"I don't know," replied Omar, his tone filled with anguish. "But it seems to be something far more complicated than we imagined."

"Let's hope the boss can save him," added Omar, looking at Marie with concern.

"I hope so too," she whispered, closing her eyes for a moment. A whirlwind of emotions overwhelmed her: sadness, anger, and above all, fear of Nick's fate.

"I hope nothing happens to you, Nick… Come back to us safe and sound," she murmured silently, feeling the weight of the situation slowly bearing down on her.