Part 3

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Colossus P.OV

What a day. First, time travel. Then, meeting some of the coolest people l'd ever known. And now? Suspended inside the stomach of a giant mechanical monster, dangling like bait over a vat of bubbling acid.

The claw that held me squeezed tight, pinning my wings to my back like a clumsy kid clutching a butterfly. My legs swung uselessly above the acidic pool, the steam rising to lick at my boots. Fear? Nah, not my style. I was mostly bored.

I scanned my surroundings, arms crossed, waiting for my moment. The metal chamber stretched around me like some dystopian cube, high walls adorned with square shafts. Those shafts weren't just decoration-they poured streams of my blood like slow, sticky waterfalls into the acid below.
Lovely.

I could've broken free. I could've unfurled my wings and shot straight for one of those shafts. But I didn't. Not yet. There was a piece of the puzzle missing, and I wasn't going to make a move until it clicked.

Akumu appeared beside me, floating in her usual ghostly form, legs crossed like she was lounging in an invisible armchair. Her grin was as sharp as her tone.

"Still waiting for a hero to save you, darling?" she teased, tilting her head.

I smirked back. "Nope. Waiting for my new friends to save me. Big difference."

Her laugh was soft but cutting. "You're always like this-drawn to chaos, practically diving into danger. It's one of your most exhausting qualities."

"And yet you're still here," I shot back. "Must mean you like me."

"Like you?" She leaned closer, her grin widening. "I adore you, Colossus. Your recklessness keeps things... entertaining."

I couldn't help but laugh. But I needed answers. "Akumu," | said, my voice dropping to something more serious. "Do you know what's happening here? Why this thing has your blood in it?"

Her smile faltered, just for a moment.
"Demonic blood," she said quietly, her tone laced with regret, "is... unstable. It corrupts. Mutates. Twists anything it touches, even plants. This robot is no exception."

Her words sank in like stones, heavy and unsettling. I stared at the streams of my blood flowing into the acid, connecting the dots.

Then, a voice broke through the tension —a voice I never thought l'd be so relieved to hear.

"Colossus! Colossus!"

"Mabel?" | called out, my head snapping up.

"Oh, thank goodness, you're okay!" Her voice crackled through some kind of intercom, faint but clear enough.

"Better than okay, Sweet Face. Glad to hear your voice, too. Now let's skip the pleasantries and focus. What's the situation out there?"

There was a pause, and I could almost hear her thinking. "Uh, not great! If Dipper were here, he'd probably have some genius plan, but, uh... I'm winging it!"

I chuckled despite myself. "You're doing fine, Mabel. Just stay sharp. Now listen-"I looked back down at the acid and the blood pouring into it, the memory of black goo dripping from the robot's mouth flashing through my mind. My stomach tightened as the realization hit me.

"Mabel!" | yelled, urgency sharpening my tone. "Is the robot still leaking black goo?!"

"Uh, yeah. Tons of it. Why?"

"Don't touch it!" I snapped. "It's dangerous. It's alive. If it gets on you-"

"We'll try, but..." Her voice wavered. "It's everywhere. And it's, um, rising. Fast."

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