Double Or Nothing: A Coin Flip Away

Buddy Cops, Bad Robots

Morpheus and Winfrey dismounted the Lord of Sloth's hover cycle outside of a large, glowing establishment on the Eastern side of Sloth's industrial complex. Winfrey climbed out of the imp-sized cup holder in the Technological Tyrant's cycle slot, cracking his knees and elbows. "Was it too much for even a helmet, Morpheus?" The disheveled head of silver hair mumbled, wobbling back and forth. Morpheus fastened his cloak over his titanium shoulders, reaching a hand to his eyes to remove his breathing apparatus. A hiss of air before Morpheus' tentacled beard waved in the frigid undersea air.

"I did insist you bring one before we left, Winfrey. You stubbornly refused." The imp butler grumbled something before stepping onto the curb with Morpheus, steadying himself on a nearby bush display. "So," Winfrey stated, "we're here for Wrench's list of parts and pieces. Will they really let you take the parts out of here?" Morpheus cracked the ball bearing joints of his armored knuckles. "I built this place with my bare hands. Surely they would be willing to spare some materials for our cause."

Winfrey pursed his scarlet lips. "And if they don't?" Morpheus' eyes darkened with thunderous irritation. "Then we'll make our own materials." Striding to the door, Morpheus removed his right thumb cap, inserting the cap into a slot beside the large steel doors. Piercing blue lights swarmed across the factory exterior while a loud buzzer rang across the road. Winfrey turned his head past apartments and streets, watching the outline of something large float through the ocean beyond the glowing blue depths of the glass dome. It sent shivers down his spine just seeing its claws.

Morpheus' voice brought Winfrey back to reality. "This way, we'll see if we can't order the parts in here." Winfrey jogged after the incomparable scaled Morpheus, entering and shielding his eyes from the abrupt lights and the sounds of machinery encapsulating his being. Everything awoke with artificial energy, cranes and levers pulling and pushing carts onto conveyor belts hauling packages and newly crafted parts out to mechanical sorting machines where they were dispersed to shipment yards in packaged gray and blue boxes.

Winfrey kept his hands away from the hazardous machinery, following Morpheus toward a help desk at the edge of the platform overlooking the warehouse below. Stopping beside Morpheus, Winfrey peered over the ledge of the iron handrails. The deafening machinery paired with the notion that he was hundreds of feet below sea level made his being quiver, cooling the butler with rigid tension. While Morpheus worked above, Winfrey stepped past the control center to look over the factory. For a car collector, the silver haired imp was surprised by the advanced display systems and organizing technology he saw.

Meanwhile, Morpheus pressed a switch beside the help desk, causing a screen to blink to life before him. "Welcome to Wavecrest Manufacturing. How can I be of service?" With Wrench's list of parts displayed on his left glove, Morpheus swept the information into the help desk screen, then answered, "Find me these parts in size and quantity. Run calculations for production, but have them ready within the next three hours."

The help desk replied with a blinking sound effect before stating, "Grammatical error detected. Please review spellchecking." Morpheus pulled out the digital information on his gauntlet, grumbling when he saw the problem. "No, that's..." he growled, "that's just how Wrench writes. You would think an engineer of his caliber would have neater handwriting. Okay, let's try this again," he exhaled, typing in the list manually. As he typed, Morpheus turned his attention to a larger problem. Something loud shook the factory interior.

Winfrey tripped over his tail, crashing to the floor. "What was that?!" The butler groaned. Morpheus turned away from the help desk, popping open a stool beside the desk. "Use that list! Keep updating the parts list for Wrench!" As a spine shivering mechanical roar shook the cables and crane arms in the factory below, Morpheus tightened his fists with his hook beside him. "I'll tend to this rogue robot." As the Technological Tyrant swung over the ledge and slammed into the floor ready to brawl, Winfrey leapt to the controls, his sharp red fingers clicking across the keys at blinding speed.

Morpheus landed below, pummeled backward by a large mechanical box with cables sparking behind a protruding shutdown switch atop its frame. Flattened against the wall, Morpheus slammed his hook through the frame of the box, digging out wires before smacking the top of the robot, smashing the switch backward. The box, writhing and sparking with damage, shuddered to a stop and slammed dead to the floor. Free to breathe, Morpheus clutched his ribs. "Malfunctioning piece of garbage," the Lord of Sloth sputtered, wiping oil from his beard.

Winfrey finished typing out his report, turning to a disgruntled and injured Morpheus. "We have a-" "Full report? Good," Morpheus exhaled. "No, I-" "So how soon will the machine be run-" "Morpheus, stop and listen to me!" The Lord of Sloth stopped while Winfrey shuddered. "That box you just destroyed? The factory needed that to organize our parts. It was a power cell." Morpheus' face went blank with shock. "So our parts?" "We needed that box to get them." Morpheus tilted his face to the floor. "Well, shit." Winfrey chewed at his lip. "Yup."