"How do you feel, Max?" Will quietly asked once they had stopped to hide behind the corner of the building across from the Emporium.
"Excellent, William," Max whispered.
"I know you haven't had a chance to get a feel for your upgrades, but I suppose this is as good an opportunity as any to see what you can do," Will stated. "Claire said you should be able to do all the things that Atticus, that black automaton, can do."
"Ah, so that automaton's name is Atticus, is it?" Max asked.
"Yup," Will replied.
Across the street, the giant automaton had almost finished destroying the Emporium.
"Can you get me up to the top of that thing?" Will asked as he looked up toward the automaton's head.
"I most certainly can," Max answered confidently.
"Ok, then we'd better go now before it decides to move on," Will said.
As Will and Max emerged from their hiding place and began to run across the street, the giant automaton smashed through the Emporium's remaining section of wall and then began to slowly make its way down 1st Street.
"Climb onto my back," Max said as he paused for a moment once they were within about ten yards of the automaton's feet.
Will obeyed and grabbed onto the two handles that he had built into Max's shoulders. He then put his feet into two indentations in Max's back. Max began to sprint toward the automaton's left leg, and Will pulled himself into Max as tightly as he could and braced himself. Suddenly, Max leapt into the air and grabbed onto the automaton's leg.
"Hang on, William!" Max shouted as he began to ascend.
Max cautiously made his way up the side of the automaton, using various protrusions as hand and footholds. Eventually, he swung onto the automaton's back and was finally able to pull himself up onto the shoulder.
"Almost there, Max," Will noted.
"I must say...you and Claire did a wonderful job!" Max complimented. "Ready?"
"Go for it!" Will said.
Max prepped himself for the final jump and then shot up into the air and landed on the automaton's head. Will could see the entrance hatch only a few feet away. Suddenly, the hatch opened, and Atticus climbed out and closed the hatch with his foot.
"Uh oh," Will muttered. "Better get us out of here, Max."
Instantly, Max jumped back down onto the giant automaton's shoulder and began to descend the way he had come.
"Claire!" Will shouted. "Change of plans. I don't think we'll be able to use the main entrance. Atticus is up here!"
"The only other option you have is the maintenance hatch on the left side of the torso," Claire instructed through the transceiver.
"You heard her, Max," Will said as he looked around to see if Atticus was pursuing them.
Atticus was nowhere in sight. A few moments later, Max had reached the maintenance hatch on the torso.
"Autumn!" Will shouted.
An unlocking sound was heard, and Will pushed the hatch open. Just was he was stepping into the automaton's torso, Atticus leapt from the automaton's left arm and struck Max in the chest, knocking Will into the torso and causing Max to fall. Will immediately got up, closed the hatch, and engaged the manual lock.
"Max!" Will called into his transceiver. "Max, are you ok?!"
For a moment, Will only heard the sound of grunting and clashing metal.
"I'm ok, William. Continue on," Max finally said.
"What happened, Will?" Claire asked.
"I'm in, Claire," Will answered. "But I think Max is having to deal with Atticus. What now?"
"There should be a narrow catwalk in front of you," Claire instructed. "Follow it for a few paces until you find a ladder on your left. Take that ladder up to the next catwalk."
Outside, Max had stopped his fall by grabbing onto the giant automaton's leg. Atticus tried to open the maintenance hatch, but found it to be locked and thus turned his attention toward Max and began to slide down from the torso toward him. Max quickly swung around onto the inner part of the leg and then jumped across and grabbed onto the right leg. He swung himself around the leg and began to ascend toward the torso. Atticus was close behind.
Back inside, Will had just reached the next catwalk as Claire had instructed. He paused for a moment to marvel at the inner workings of the automaton. The space within the torso was neatly and efficiently organized. While Will could see the various gears and pneumatic cylinders that enabled the automaton's movement, there was no sign of any electrical equipment, controls, or cables. Will recalled how Claire had explained that the electrical components were housed within the double-walled casing of the automaton's shell.
"Claire, I'm on the next catwalk," Will said.
"I've got some bad news, Will," Claire replied.
"What is it?" Will asked.
"Look up toward the central area below where the head and neck should be," Claire instructed. "You should see a circular catwalk, and a ladder leading up into the neck."
"Yeah, I see it," Will stated. "How do I get to it?"
"That's the bad news," Claire responded. "There's a beam at the top that you should be able to use to get across...but in order to get up there, you need to climb the gears in the left shoulder, which should be directly above you."
Will looked up at the complex network of gears and cylinders located directly above his head just as Claire had described. Beyond that, Will could see a large supporting beam that ran the length of the automaton's shoulder.
"I see the gears and the beam, Claire," Will said. "And you're right...I think I should be able to climb across the beam and drop down onto the catwalk. I'm gonna need a minute to figure out how to get through these gears."
Meanwhile, Max was just about to reach the automaton's right shoulder when he suddenly felt a hand grab his ankle, and he looked down to see Atticus below. Atticus forcefully pulled on Max's leg, and Max released his grip and began to fall. As he fell past Atticus, Max quickly grabbed Atticus' left leg and then used his momentum to fling himself over to the giant automaton's right arm, causing Atticus to lose his grip and fall down to the ground. Max watched Atticus fall and then began to climb up the arm. As he climbed, the giant automaton reached over with its left arm and tried to grab Max, but Max had seen it coming and was able to bound over onto the left hand and then back onto the right shoulder.
"Max!" Will called over the transceiver.
"Yes, William?" Max replied as he finally made it to the automaton's shoulder. "I'm here."
"I need your help," Will said.
"You better make it quick," Max said as he looked down to see Atticus ascending the automaton's right leg. "It's a gauntlet out here."
"It's not much better in here, pal," Will quipped. "The left arm just moved...which direction was it?"
"Up and to the right," Max replied.
"Ok, I need you to get it to do that again," Will instructed. "Only this time, a bit higher up."
"I'll see what I can do," Max replied as he walked back over to the top of the right arm. "Ready?"
"Go for it!" Will replied.
Max began to slide down the automaton's right arm and then stopped himself midway down. A moment later, the right arm began to reach over once again.
Back inside the torso, Will saw the gears begin to move, and he quickly climbed up onto the catwalk guard rail and then jumped and grabbed a pneumatic cylinder that was above his head. The cylinder began to contract, lifting Will upwards.
Outside, Max had just begun to scramble back up the right arm when he suddenly felt himself jerked back down. Atticus had jumped out onto the right arm just below Max and had grabbed his foot once again. As Max slid back down, Atticus grabbed his arm. A moment later, the giant automaton's left hand closed around Max and pulled him away. The automaton swung its left arm back out and then smashed Max through the wall of a nearby building.
Meanwhile, Will had also experienced a setback inside. The cylinder had pulled him up to a set of gears which he had grabbed onto and had begun to climb across toward another cylinder, which looked like it would take him high enough to be able to jump to the beam. However, the movement of the various components had suddenly shifted in the opposite direction from the one he had desired and anticipated, causing Will to lose his grip and fall.
Back outside, the giant automaton smashed Max through another part of the building a second time and then a third time. As the automaton pulled its arm out of the debris, Max no longer appeared to be in its grasp. As the automaton opened its hand, Max suddenly jumped out of the building and bounded from the automaton's hand to its arm. He quickly scaled the arm up to the automaton's left shoulder and then stopped. There in front of him stood Atticus.
Back inside the torso, Will had been able to stop his fall by grabbing the catwalk rail.
"Damn!" Will grunted as he looked down below at the grim fate that had almost been his.
Will pulled himself back up onto the catwalk.
"Max!" Will shouted into his transceiver. "What happened?!"
"Sorry, William," Max replied. "I'm going to need a moment..."
Back outside on the automaton's shoulder, Max and Atticus began to run toward one another. As they neared each other, Atticus leapt toward Max, and Max slid under Atticus, grabbing Atticus' left leg in the process. Max then pulled with all his might and flung Atticus toward the automaton's head. Atticus readjusted midflight and landed with his feet against the automaton's head. Atticus immediately pushed off with his feet and dove straight back at Max, hitting him squarely in the chest. For a moment, the two automatons became an indistinguishable rolling mass of metal until Max dug his feet into the giant automaton's shoulder, and they regained their balance and began to grapple.
Neither automaton seemed to have any advantage in the struggle until Max stepped too closely to the edge of the shoulder and lost his footing. Atticus instantly seized the opportunity to reach out with his right hand and grab Max by the neck. Atticus quickly lifted Max into the air and then turned and slammed him down onto the giant automaton's shoulder. Max, who was seemingly dazed by the forceful impact, made no attempt to resist as Atticus tightened his grip on Max's neck and then raised his left fist to deal a decisive blow.
"You...are...inferior," Atticus growled menacingly.
As Atticus let his fist fly, Max suddenly swung his legs up and over his head, somersaulting backward with the help of Atticus' own momentum. Atticus lost his balance, falling forward as his fist missed its target and smashed into the giant automaton's shoulder. Max twisted in the air, and as he landed on his feet, he grabbed Atticus' head with his left hand and began to run swiftly along the shoulder, dragging Atticus' body by his head and scraping his face against the shoulder. As Max reached the left edge of the shoulder, he lifted Atticus into the air by the neck, crushed his neck with his left hand, and then forcefully kicked Atticus' torso, causing his body to separate from his head and fall to the ground below. Max looked at Atticus' head for a brief moment and then cast it aside.
"William," Max called.
"I'm here, Max," Will responded. "Are you ok?"
"I'm fine," Max replied. "Shall we try this again?"
"Ready when you are!" Will answered.
"Ok...here we go," Max said as he ran toward the automaton's head and then jumped out and grabbed onto its face.
A moment later, the automaton raised both of its arms in an attempt to catch Max. Max jumped from the face to the right hand and then began to run along the right arm.
Inside the torso, Will had been able to retrace his earlier route to the place where he had lost his grip and fallen. He climbed across the network of gears and then jumped up and grabbed the next pneumatic cylinder.
"A little bit higher, Max!" Will instructed.
Max turned and jumped onto the automaton's right shoulder where he hesitated for a moment to taunt the automaton into reaching for him with its left arm. The automaton took the bait and tried to grab Max with its left hand. Max quickly dodged the grasp and then leapt on top of the automaton's head. The automaton reached up and tried to grab Max, but he dodged its grasp once again.
Meanwhile, the cylinder had contracted, lifting Will toward the top of the torso and the beam that would take him across to the head. Once the cylinder had fully contracted, Will jumped off and landed on the beam.
"I made it, Max!" Will shouted. "Thanks! Get yourself someplace safe!"
"Be careful, William," Max said as he jumped down onto the automaton's left shoulder and then swung himself over the edge and onto the automaton's back.
Will cautiously made his way across the beam until he was over the circular catwalk, and then he carefully lowered himself down.
"Claire, I made it to the circular catwalk," Will shared.
"Great!" Claire replied. "The ladder should take you right up into the head."
Suddenly, the giant automaton stopped moving and began to speak.
"Salley, if you're in there, I'll give you one chance to come out and face me like a man. You have 'til the count of five before I start demolishing the club," the automaton shouted. "1...2..."
"Damn!" Will exclaimed. "He isn't gonna give up 'til he finds him..."
"3..." the automaton continued.
Will made his way to the nearby ladder and looked up through the maintenance shaft where he could see light coming through a grate high above.
"4..." counted the automaton.
Will took hold of the ladder and began to ascend.
"5..." the automaton shouted.
Suddenly, Will felt a falling sensation and then an abrupt stop, which caused him to lose his balance and hit his head against the ladder. He realized that the automaton had begun to demolish Moe's club. As Will took a moment to gather his senses, the automaton continued to shift and reverberate from the shock of each blow of its fists through the brick, concrete, and metal of the building it was reducing to rubble. Finally, Will began to climb once again, although the going was slow. He was only a few feet away from the top when he heard gunshots ring out, followed by a loud crash.
"Did you think your sissy boy bomb shelter was going to protect you?" the automaton shouted. "You're mine now, Salley!"