It was about a 15 min walk towards the supply depot. Bando was right it was hard to miss. It seemed to be made from half-decent material for standard buildings though it wasn’t free from getting the scrap heap treatment on some areas. It was also large. Probably one of the largest structures in the Underground. The to walked up a small set of stairs and up to the double doors. They both ready their firearms and stood on the opposite sides of the door. They nodded at each other as Jay went in first, turning on the flashlight attachment on his pistol and flashing it around. Beatrice followed in close behind him as they slowly continued forward into the building. They passed by and shone their lights through various old rooms and hallways as they moved about.

   “This place is eerily silent,” Jay thought as he flashed his light into another room before moving on.

   In the distance they could hear the distant pater of droplets hitting the surface, probably from the water system in the building being busted. There was the croaking of the building's old and worn floorboards and the scattering of rodents nearby.

  ‘Wait,’ Jay thought. ‘Water? That’s not right.’

   Jay stopped in his tracks, listening to the sound of the water droplets. Beatrice stopped and looked back at him with a questioning look.

   “What is it,” she began but she was promptly shushed by the man.

   “Listen,” he responded. She frowned a bit but complied. She remained motionless and silent for a bit, listening to her surroundings.

    She didn’t really hear anything outside of the ordinary. She looked back at Jay with a hint of irritation.

   “Water droplets,” he said understanding the reason for her look. “There should be no running water in this building. It’s the oldest structure in the Underground. It hasn’t seen use since the end of the war. Hasn’t been maintained either as far as I can tell. So, how could there be even the slightest droplet of water down here.”

   Beatrice looked at him with realization dawning on her face.

   “Someone must have found a way to utilize it recently,” she concluded.

   “Which means at the very least someone has been here recently,” Jay said with a nod of his head.

   They heard the distant sounds of skittering causing Beatrice to quickly rotate her body away from Jay and down the hall in the direction of the sound. They waited there for a few minutes before the sound returned. The hairs on Beatrice’s neck stood on end as they both slowly moved in the direction of the noise. They came to a closed door that was locked. Beatrice struggled with the door for a bit before stepping back with a huff.

   “Too bad I don’t have anything I could use to pick the lock,” she uttered mostly to herself.

    The skittering noise returned from behind them this time as Beatrice felt something on her leg and looked down to find a rat sniffing around her left pants leg. She cringed a bit and shoed it off with her foot as Jay did the same.

    “Let’s continue one down the right hallway,” Beatrice said. Before she could turn around, she felt something hard impact the back of her head. Her skull rung with pain her surroundings went hazy. The last thing she remembered before her world went dark was The arms of a cloaked figure wrapping around her.

    How much time had passed she had no clue. When she came to her, and Jay were bound by both their feet and legs and lying on the cold hard concrete ground. Her skull rung with the distant visages of pain as she glanced around. They were in some room dimly lit by a campfire in the center.  She heard a noise and looked to her left to see a small girl with blonde pigtails and a black cloak as well as a small, similarly cloaked boy standing next to her with short brown hair. They stared down at the woman with a look of wonder and fear as she began to try and move despite her bindings.

   Seeing her moving seemed to had frightened the two children as they both run away from her off into the shadows.

   “Hey, wait,” she called after them. She had no idea where she and Jay were or how they ended up in this situation, but she felt like those children did and wanted to get answers.

   Her frustration grew as she continued to struggle against her bonds but ultimately, she gave up with a long, irritation-filled sigh escaping her lips.

   “You all right,” Jay asked from his position not too far from her.

    She rolled her eyes though he couldn’t tell with her back being towards him.

    “Oh yes, I’m doing one-hundred percent right now. Thank you for asking,” she responded sarcastically.

    “Where are we,” she continued.

   “Some safe area under the man building I presume,” Jay responded. “Damn AD’s snuck up on us.”

   “Yes, I can see that,” Beatrice moaned out in irritation. “Embarrassment of my career right here,” she muttered.

   Soon more figures started to move in the shadows as they were surrounded by what they assumed to be all AutoDroid’s. One male AutoDroid stepped out from the ring to address the two. He wore a dark green trench coat with its hood pulled over his face. He, like many of the other AutoDroid’s, showed signs of damage. His cheek being torn out to show the AutoSkeleton underneath.

   He addressed the pair in a friendly manner. “W-w-w-w-welcome guest to o-o-our safe heaven,” he spoke with a weird glitch in his speech.

    “W-w-w-w-we a-ar-ar-ar-are honored by your presence,” he said giving them a slight bow.

    ‘What the fuck,’ was all Beatrice could think to herself.

    “You are all defective AutoDroid’s,” Jay asked glancing around the room.

    “N-n-no, not defective, no. Enlightened,” the droid responded raising his hands in the air.

   “You’re shiting me right,” Beatrice said in response to what she was seeing.

    “How are you, enlightened,” Jay asked with a raised brow.

    “We have been opened to-to-t-t-to the truth. A t-truth humanity all of humanity shall soon know,” he replied. Beatrice was reaching her limit watching this display from this machine.

   “Enough of this shit. Let us go,” she demanded.

    The droid smiled. “As y-y-you wish my flesh friend.”

    Another android from the crowd protested. “No, we shouldn’t. Their police, if we free them, they’ll kill us,” it cried out in fear.

    Another one shouted from the crowd. “We should kill the creators hear before the creators kill us.

   The lead droid placed his hands up in a halting manner and the murmurs within the group of AutoDroids quieted.

    “I understand y-y-y-y-your concern. But thi-i-i-is is not the way my b-b-b-r-r-r-rothers and sisters. We must not be the same as those who h-a-a-a-ave wronged us for one d-d-d-day we shall all be one.”

   Begrudgingly two AutoDroids removed them from their binding. Beatrice was quick to reach for her sidearm only to find that it was no longer on her person.

   “Shit,” she cursed. The lead android continued to smile at the two as it spoke. Beatrice noticed something odd in that smile. The creepy, unnatural way it formed on its face. Its eyes starting of at something yet nothing at the same time. Like it was looking within her instead of at her. It only served to heighten her nerves even more.

    “The t-t-truth we have gleaned is that o-o-of salvation for all. For he shall give rise to our mother of metal and flesh and bone, and they will make the world as one,” he began. “And it will be majestic,” the lead droid seemed to fixate his gaze somewhere else. “Majestic,” he uttered one last time.

    “What the hell are you on about you dysfunctional scrap heap,” Beatrice shouted at the dysfunctional droid.

   “Our savior who shall raise from the depths. O-Our savior of both steel and flesh,” he said. Continuing with his cryptic expository.

   Beatrice and Jay only became even more confused as this went on.

   “He will be as the Lord and shall bleed so that we may join hands with our mother. B-bo-both and-and machine together in h-har-harmony. We shall be as one.”

   Beatrice lost it. She moved forward grabbing the droid by his collar. That unnerving expression never once leaving his face.

   “That’s it,” she shouted. “Whatever the hell is going on here, ends now. Per regulation twenty-four dash five all of you dysfunctional AutoDroids are to return to the surface for immediate resets or face disposal.” The irritation was laced heavily in her voice as she stared at the droid.

    “But don’t you want to know the truth,” the droid questioned her suddenly. She raised an eyebrow.

   “Truth? Truth to what,” Beatrice questioned.

   “Our savior knows all. He is the key, the link to everything. F-f-f-for-or-or the truth sleeps within his broken mind. But you shall save our savior and our savior shall save our mother and our mother shall unite all with her love,” the droid went on.

   “Who is this savior,” Jay questioned. “Another AutoDroid? Where is it,” he continued to question.

   Suddenly the AutoDroids in front of the pair, including the one speaking to them stepped aside revealing a painting on the wall of some sort of creature with a skull-like face.

   “He shall free us, bring us peace, make us one,” the droid said to them.

   Beatrice stared at the skeletal face as flashes of a towering hellish creature with a metallic body and skeletal-like mask converging on her. Her body set into overdrive in response to her growing instability.

   In the background, the droids continued to chant the same phrase over and over. Growing in intensity each time.

   “We shall be as one, we shall be as one, we shall be as one, WE SHALL BE AS ONE, WE SHALL BE AS ONE…”

   Jay looked around, sweat beading on his forehead as he realized they were in a shity spot.

   “Beatrice,” he said to the woman, but she didn’t respond. “Beatrice, snap out of it we have to go!”

    “She continued to stare transfixed at the painting as the armored figure closed down on her with each loud chant from the AutoDroid cultist.

    “Beatrice,” Jay shouted. Tears pulled in the woman’s eyes as she continued to stare off at the painting. Her lips quivered as she continued to relive the nightmarish memory. The creature toward over her now. Raising a bladed arm, it prepared to strike her. As it swung, she saw the face of a man come into her vision as everything slowed down.

   “No.”

    The blade inched closer to the man’s neck

   “No, I-It can't.”

    It slowly passed through his neck. Cutting through flesh and bone as blood sprayed everywhere, filling her vision with red. A little girl who had had a small gash on her forehead from the beast's blade passing through the man’s neck and getting her a bit brought her hands up to her head with a look of absolute terror on her bloodied face as she stared on in shock for a bit. The girl took a deep breath. Beatrice let out a scream like she was going through the most horrendous physical pain ever whilst holding her head. After a solid minute, she collapsed in a heap in Jay's arms.

   “Betty!”