Young Writers Society

Sage muttered, "There must be an opening somewhere. Unless this place has different tech and the robots are controlled remotely? How would repairs work?" She examined the robotic dog with a thoughtful frown on her face, oblivious to her surroundings.

Two more scientists tried to restrain Cyra, and red-lab-coat pressed their ear and called for back-up.

Cyra was easily stronger than them, being made of stone and all. His arms were too thick to easily grasp and scraping your fingers against them was painful with the amount of force he wrenched them away. He grabbed his two hatchets, settling into fighting position. “Back the hell away! This is your last warning.”

"Aha!" Sage pressed her pinky into a small indent, and the robot dog's eyes went dark. Sage gently lifted a panel and started examining the dog's motherboard while the lab techs were distracted with Cyra.

"Find the power off button!" Red-lab-coat hissed, glaring at Cyra.

A lab coat complied, attempting to knock faer hat off.

Cyra scoffed. “Was that necessary?” The vents were painfully obvious, since steam rose from them in thick swirls. “Are you satisfied?”

One of the assailants hopped back in surprise. “What- what are you?”

“Oh for fucks sake.” Cyra took a deep breath. “Don’t worry about it.”

"You're clearly not an android... What kind of robot has steaming vents?" A lab tech gaped at Cyra.

"Ooh! Steaming... steamers... perhaps a cooking bot," Sage said dreamily.

A scientist noticed Sage and yelped. "Wha-- Hey! What are you doing to that robot? Is that experiment 49?" She rushed towards Sage and snatched the robot away. "Arrest these two meddlers!"

Cyra’s eye twitched. “Come near me, I dare you.”

One of the lab techs sighed. “Annabeth, turn of the security sprinkles.”

Cyra picked up his hat and dusted off. “You can take your security sprinkles and choke on them.”

With a sputter, a couple of sprinklers started to turn on. They surrounded the perimeter of the park and sprayed some kind of liquid a couple meters into the air, like a fence. A mist drifted from the sprays and floated towards Sage and Cyra.

Cyra felt the water hit the back of her head. She went rigid, already feeling the cold settle in. They pitched backward, landing on the grass already unconscious.

One of the lab techs punched the air. "Yes! The beast has fallen."

"Imagine the experiments we can do."

Sage glanced around in confusion. There were people milling around, and the four-armed person was on the ground for some reason, and two people in white coats were coming towards her and--

"Wha-- hey!"

The scientists grabbed her roughly by the arms and started walking towards a sleek white building. "You both are coming with us."

Neptune

Neptune backed up, shaking his head. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't."

"Shut up, llyffant. Who permitted you to speak?"

Neptune flinched but fell silent, clutching his cane so close to his chest that it looked like it would snap.

Raina

Raina frowned and glanced at Neptune. She had no idea what “llyffant” meant, but it was obviously meant to hurt. And from the way Neptune was practically strangling his cane, it looked like the word had hit its mark.

"There's no need for bad language here, folks. No need for any taking or dying, either." She stood up taller and took a step back. "We'll just take our leave peacefully, yeah?"

The soldiers laughed. "Listen here, American. That's not how this works around here. That person you're standing next to is a wanted criminal. Do you want to help out a felon, little lady?"

Neptune opened his mouth to protest. But, before he could speak, one of the guards smacked him across the face. "I said don't speak!" Neptune clutched his cheek, white eyes glaring at the soldiers.

Raina took in a sharp breath, then crossed her arms. "Heck yes, I'll help out a felon who's clearly being mistreated. And this supposed 'felon' is a lot nicer than you guys, that's for sure." Raina hadn't known Neptune for long, but he was obviously a better ally than those soldiers could be. "I suggest you all leave."

"Heh, listen to the American." A soldier chuckled. "Thinks she's so brave, eh? Well, perhaps we'll deal with you after we chop up the Ukayan for parts."

Neptune drew to his full height, which really wasn’t that much. He resolutely set the tip of his cane on the ground, keeping his face level. “Just take me.”

The solider scoffed. “What makes you think you have a say?”

“I’ll go quietly if you just take me.”

“And what do you think’s going to happen if you don’t?” The solider approached Neptune and crouched in front of them, as if they were talking to a stupid child. “Well, you’re going to die right here, and we still get the American. You come quietly, you get to enjoy your last moments.”

A third soldier approached. "Wait just a moment, lads. I thought we were planning to sell the Ukayan as a slave."

"No, Jeremiah, we decided yesterday that the llyffant was to be killed," the first soldier spat.

"May I just remind you all that peace is an option too?" Raina chimed in.

The soldiers glared at her.