"You…you guys aren't gonna kill me, right?"
The robot was no more than the average teen, skinnier in fact, and aside from his dyed purple-to-pink hair with a spiked-messy style, and yellow eyes, he was a regular person.
The clothes he wore were clearer now, a black quarter-zip – the same brand and colour for the trousers – and a purple hoodie tied around his waist.
Both Drew and Xeanoz looked at him, neither one hundred percent sure what to do.
Then Drew spoke.
"Why. Did you kill that guy?"
Xeanoz folded her arms, cutting in before the boy could even speak.
"I think the more important question is, who are you? And I'd rather you tell me now, or you can die, and not a peaceful death either, you'll die with a spear through your throat instead of your back."
Drew stared at her.
"Can you pleeease shut your voodoo ass up?"
"Huh." She glared at him, but he looked back at the boy and avoided her.
They were all on the top floor of an indoor car park; it wasn't empty, but they stayed out of view the best they could.
Meanwhile, they had the boy nailed to the wall with Xeanoz's spears piercing through his clothes.
Xeanoz had dragged the boy's unconscious body to the top while Drew hid his broken arm under his shirt and got painkillers at a nearby pharmacy.
Drew took one of the tablets out of boredom and to ease the torture in his arm, before the boy finally spoke up, catching Drew and Xeanoz's attention.
"Alright, name's Sam Tyson, I'm basically part of a group of mercenaries, and I was told to take a hit on that guy."
Drew raised his eyebrow.
"Wait, seriously? You gave up that easily?"
Sam immediately yelled back.
"What do you expect! I'm tied up! I don't want you to kill me!!"
Xeanoz unfolded her arms, walking over to him, which caused Sam to lean back into the pillar and flinch ever so slightly.
"This guy is a weirdo."
Sam only smirked after Xeanoz's comment, not thinking much of it.
"Damn, that was hurtful, and after I said 'you had a pretty face'"
She glared again, stepping back, causing him to make another cheery remark.
"Ooooo, the bitchy type. Who doesn't like a strong woman?"
Drew stepped in the middle of things. Somehow, becoming the mediator.
After getting his arm twisted, he now wanted to take a more careful approach towards Sam, not wanting to let his own spite for the emo-looking mercenary take over.
"So, a mercenary? And you're sure that's it? What kind of a mercenary has a mech suit full of whatever that purple stuff was…"
"Or even what kind of a mercenary can hold their own and almost kill something like her!"
He screamed, losing his mediator status, as he began to realise the amount of insanity in what had been going on, he then looked over at Xeanoz.
"AND YOU! What was that!? You threw me out the window yesterday! You nearly killed me with fire; you nearly burned my house down! But you lose to a frickin' Iron Man rip-off!"
She stared at him blankly, not saying a word before defending herself.
"If I used my more damaging and wide-range attacks, I would've caused people to notice. Granted, our airborne, rooftop fight wasn't any better."
"But it was less noticeable than a miniature firestorm."
"Making my fire into spears was the safest play."
It had at least explained why she looked back when she had lost sight of the second rod that Sam had launched, as she didn't want anyone coming down to check what was going down.
Sam leaned forward and back, rocking on the floor.
The day was darkening as Xeanoz and Drew went over to the corner to talk.
Xeanoz immediately started with an attitude.
"I don't like him at all, he's annoying, he's blunt, he's weird, and he called me bottom-heavy."
Drew nodded in response.
"Yeah, you got a point about not liking him, but I call you that too."
She gave him another look.
"I never said I liked you."
He rolled his eyes at her.
"I don't like you, and yet here we are."
She grumbled a little, causing Drew to chuckle.
"The hell? You're grumbling? That's fucking cute."
She immediately glared at him, which caused him to freeze as she gave him the dirtiest look ever.
"I nearly died keeping you alive, you ungrateful shit!"
"You call me cute again, I'll put you six feet under."
Drew nodded as fast as possible, wanting to avoid another confrontation with the same person who threw him out the window for a second time, while Sam subtly snickered in the back.
***
It was finally the evening, and unfortunately, they had gotten nowhere with Sam besides his name and his job.
Xeanoz had proposed torture, but Drew denied, as he didn't want to get too close to Sam – also because he assumed Sam would scream and draw attention.
And with how silent he had been, it was a miracle he hadn't done it yet.
But then Xeanoz noticed something, Sam was too calm, too relaxed, even cracking jokes and being amused despite being held hostage.
She walked straight up to him and towered over him, and she spoke.
"You're doing this on purpose."
Sam tilted his head.
"Wha?"
Drew sighed. Confused by her statement, but he chalked it up to Xeanoz being fed up and coming to some stupid conclusion.
He could admit he was in the same place, yet still holding onto his sanity…barely.
"Xeanoz, come on, what the hell could he possibly be playing at? He's tied up, even if he's got some form of backup, they won't know where he is."
She didn't listen as she even gripped Sam by the cheeks and held his face up to hers.
"You're faking it, aren't you. You know damn well what you're doing."
"Xeanoz, just let him go, we can figure something out, just quit it."
Drew exclaimed, trying to get her to at least listen to reason and calm down, but she held up her guard and didn't let go.
Sam's eyes darted.
She then threw his head back.
Slamming it into the car park pillar.
"You have some sort of eidetic memory, don't you?"
"That's why you're so relaxed; any other person in your situation would freak out or say nothing. You're too relaxed, you're planning to track us down later with your friends, and finish the job."
She could see it now; only now did he begin looking at her with a little bit of lust.
"What kind of conclusion is that?" Drew, bewilderedly, thought as he stared at Xeanoz in utter perplexity.
After being thrown back, Sam's smile dropped, but he quickly grinned.
"You're right on one part, girl, but I was actually gonna do the killing myself."
Drew was holding himself back from speaking, wanting to listen more; "this guy's so petty".
"Might have some fun while I do it, go after your mum, your dad, whatever family you two got."
"I might not even kill you."
"I'll keep you both alive to watch them die!"
"And why would there be a need to be merciless and let you run away after I'm done messing with you?"
"Just kill you right after! No revenge! No help! HAHAHA!"
Drew clenched his fist.
He walked over to Sam.
Making him look up at Drew with his continued grin, and then he spoke up.
"Ooo, someone's mad-"
CRACK
He punched Sam in the face with his left arm.
And broke his nose.
And kept hitting him; as he finally snapped, he repeated, throwing punch after punch.
Sam's nose began to bleed.
His head started to ache.
He was in pain, and he looked…
Happy…like he knew something was about to happen in his favour…
But the pain…it began to overwhelm his joy.
And he started to become more terrified.
"Is this what death feels like?"
"Why do I want this now?"
Sam thought.
Unable to fathom or see reality anymore, it was all a blur.
Drew's punches didn't hinder in progression; he was frustrated.
For two days now, things had just gone downhill.
And Sam was just the straw that broke the camel's back.
Xeanoz didn't do anything.
She wasn't shocked, she wasn't afraid, she didn't even care.
She just watched with a neutral expression as he attacked Sam.
With a hint of disappointment.
But then.
The lights began to flash and flicker; they switched from the bright white to a brick red.
Illuminating across the entire room.
Xeanoz began looking around, visibly confused.
Drew didn't stop his assault; if anything, it made his attack look worse as Sam couldn't see the hits – only feel them.
He kept going, his teeth gritting and his eyes – blood-lusted.
Until Xeanoz grasped his shoulder, and pulled him away.
He was about to argue until he became aware of his surroundings.
Meanwhile, Sam struggled to look up or to even see clearly.
Everything went dark in an instant.
And when the red lights came back.
Something was standing there.
Red skin, shirtless, with an enormous white skirt that covered its three legs, two toes on each foot, and it wore sandals underneath.
Over its shoulders were two purple scarves seemingly attached to its body.
And its neck was stretched and almost strained, with a large collar over it that seemed to have teeth.
The thing was muscularly toned, with a clear six pack.
A large eye over its chest stared at the three.
And finally, it had three glowing yellow eyes as its dark brown hair stood up spiked and straight as if it had been electrocuted.
Its eyes growing wider and its pupils diminishing further.