Brothers (Part 3)

Chapter 21 - Boss Level

Jyugo: "Are we gonna be getting to the exit soon?"

Hajime: "Yeah, probably."

I was still giggling.

Hajime: "33, stop laughing already."

Jinx: "Heheh, sorry. It's just... you two still have some cream on your face."

Hajime: "*sigh* I'm too tired to yell."

We soon came to a large empty room.

Jyugo: "What is this place?"

On the other side of the room was a door labelled 'GOAL'.

Jyugo: "Ah, Hajime, there's the exit."

Hajime: "What, the exit's just being handed to us on a platter? After everything we've been through so far, I refuse to believe this isn't some kind of trap."

Jyugo: "Shouldn't there be something here?"

Jinx: "This kinda reminds me of something Nico once told me. 'Big empty room always mean you're about to have a boss fight.'"

Jyugo: "What do you think that means?"

Jinx: "No idea- Ah-"

Something humongous appeared out of nowhere.

Jinx: "HAJIMEEE!!"

Hajime: "Honestly, the hell is it this time-?"

He noticed it at the last second and jumped away before it attacked.

Jyugo: "Wh-what the-?!"

Hajime: "I knew it. So this is the last trap, huh?"

Before us stood a HUGE rabbit looking robot.

Jyugo: "Hey now, what the hell is that?! A robot?!"

Hajime: "I don't really get it, but it looks like this thing isn't gonna let us get close to the exit."

Jinx: "Oh?! What was your first clue?!"

Hajime: "In other words, if we're gonna get out of here, we gotta destroy this thing."

Jinx: "And by 'we', you mean..."

Hajime: "I mean me. You two stay outta my way."

I took Jyugo's hand.

Jinx: "Jyugo, I'm scared..."

Jyugo: "Hey, don't worry. Remember, we've got the big strong gorilla on our side. He'll take care of that thing in no time."

Hajime hit it, but his fist just bounced right off.

Hajime: "The hell is with this guy?! He's repelling my fists!"

Jinx: "It... didn't do a thing..."

Hajime: "A shock absorbent type, huh? No matter how I hit it, the power will die out midway. Just why the hell did this thing show up?"

Jyugo: "Whaaat?! Your absurd strength doesn't work on that guy?!"

Hajime: "At the very least, it means I can't just hit it. It doesn't just absorb the shock, it reflects all of it back at me. It's like hitting a huge mass of rubber."

Jinx & Jyugo: "Then what do we do?!"

Hajime: "Shut up! For now, I'm gonna see if there's some other part I can destroy. I'll put some distance between us for now and watch its movem-"

Suddenly, the robot raised its hand. It started getting red hot, we could tell it was charging up an attack. Then, a beam of flame was shot towards us. Hajime grabbed us before jumping out of the way.

Jinx & Jyugo: "WOAH-!"

Hajime: "Tch, so this is what happens when we're too far away... This is way more annoying than up close."

Jinx: "Hey Jyugo... do you suppose that-"

Jyugo: "This flame...it's the same as Musashi's..."

Jinx: "B-but that's impossible, isn't it?"

Hajime tossed us out of the way.

Robo Rabbit: "TMT-178 POWER MODE ON. METAL KNUCKLE."

Jinx: "It talked!"

Where the flame beam had just shot out of, was now a fist of solid metal. It and Hajime charged towards each other, both throwing punches.

Hajime: 'This thing's pretty fast considering it's frame... no, it's matching my speed. Moreover, is it just my imagination or has this thing only been targeting me for the past while? If it were built for anti-inmate use, then it should've been targeting 15 and 33 before anything else. And yet it came after me instead!'

Jinx: "This isn't getting anywhere..."

Jyugo: "Just stay with me, okay."

Jinx: "But-"

Jyugo pulled me behind him.

Hajime: 'It's completely ignoring the defenceless inmates behind me even now. If I think about it, there's a lot about this basement that's strange. Obvious traps, paths that you can choose... If their goal was primarily to apprehend inmates, there's too much needless bullshit. The traps in operation are mostly attack oriented and there's almost none meant for capture. Doesn't matter if their an inmate or guard, the traps activate indiscriminately. At the very least, whoever remodelled this basement isn't after the inmates.'

They pushed each other back, yet no clear damage was done to either of them.

Hajime: 'All the traps up until now all had stupid mechanisms as if they were made to piss me off. And if I look at this thing's actions, they're target... is me.'

Hajime: "I dunno what the hell you're planning, but if you're after me, then bring it on. I accept your challenge!"