As the metal door slowly lifts upward, a violent gust of wind bursts out from within.
The sound of grinding machinery echoes as the door climbs higher and higher, metal scraping against metal like something ancient waking up.
Las squints, shielding his face from the wind. His eyes widen with confusion as he stares into the darkness beyond.
Las:
"What's in there…?"
Obobo pauses for half a second. She adjusts her glasses with two fingers, glances back at him, and smirks.
Obobo:
"Instead of staring at me like an idiot and asking questions—"
She turns and steps forward, disappearing into the interior of the tree.
Obobo (over her shoulder):
"Just follow."
Cold air spills out of the opening, carrying a low, distant hum—
not quite mechanical, not quite alive.
Las swallows hard…
and steps inside.
Las hesitantly steps inside the colossal tree, following Obobo from behind.
The moment he crosses the threshold, his breath catches.
A massive factory–laboratory spreads out before him—
an industrial world that feels like the inside of a gigantic iron, mechanical tree.
From high above, multiple levels spiral upward, each lined with windows, platforms, and catwalks wrapped around the inner trunk.
All around him, animals in white engineer uniforms move with focus and speed, building, adjusting, welding.
The air is thick with a strange scent—
crushed vegetables and fruit mixed with iron, oil, and heated metal.
Everywhere, sound dominates the space: metal clanging, engines humming, tools whining, voices shouting instructions back and forth.
Nearby, a group of animals assembles mechanical tables and chairs that hover in midair, kept aloft by carefully tuned aerodynamics. The furniture floats, rotates, then settles gently as technicians take notes.
Above them, on an upper level, several animals stand around a long table.
On it rest large square planters, filled with dark soil.
A hare steps forward and pours a small amount of water onto one of the planters.
The soil trembles.
For a few seconds, nothing happens.
The hare stops. Watches. Serious. Focused.
Then—
The soil shifts.
And suddenly, from the earth, a tiny sprout breaks through the surface.
The hare's face lights up.
Hare:
"It worked—look! It sprouted! We did it!"
Las stares, eyes wide, a grin spreading across his face.
He looks around the factory in awe, absorbing everything—
like a child wandering into the greatest playground imaginable.
Obobo notices. She glances at him.
Obobo:
"You like it, huh?"
Las nods eagerly.
Las:
"It's incredible."
Obobo lifts her gaze upward, toward the endless levels of the tree.
Obobo:
"Yeah… it is."
Las keeps staring, still amazed.
Obobo (dryly):
"yea right, monkey—we've got a lot of work today."
Without warning, she grabs his hand and pulls him forward.
Las:
"Hey—stop dragging me! I'm not a baby, and I'm not a sack!"
Obobo stops. Looks him up and down slowly, from head to toe.
Then, with a flat, ironic tone—
Obobo:
"Interesting point."
Las shoots Obobo an angry glare as they keep walking.
They reach a large metallic elevator embedded into the inner wall of the tree.
To the right, there's a single oversized button.
Obobo presses it.
Las:
"What is that?"
Obobo's eye twitches. Her patience snaps.
Obobo:
"A magical mushroom."
The elevator slams to a stop in front of them.
With a sharp clang, the doors slide open—
—and BOBO LAUNCHES OUT OF IT AT FULL SPEED.
He crashes straight into Las.
WHAM.
Las goes flying backward and hits the floor, instantly unconscious.
Bobo stumbles, spins once, then grabs his own head, groaning. He looks up, thinking out loud.
Bobo:
"…Was it a bad idea to install aerodynamics inside the elevator cabin?"
Obobo stares at the scene.
She slips her hands into her pockets.
Then she laughs.
Obobo:
"Finally… I'm free of idiots."
She turns toward Bobo.
Obobo:
"Hey, dumb lizard—you handle the fluffy one. I quit."
And with that, she turns and runs off.
Bobo:
"Hey—where are you going?!"
From deep inside the factory, her voice echoes back, bright and cheerful.
Obobo (shouting):
"Permanent vacation!"
Bobo stands there in silence.
He scratches his head slowly, staring at Las's unconscious body.
Bobo (deadpan):
"…There must've been a mistake at the maternity ward."
He sighs.
Bobo:
"No way that woman is my sister."
Bobo walks over to Las, who's still unconscious.
He looks down at him for a second… then hoists him onto his back like a sack of sand.
Whistling cheerfully, Bobo heads toward the elevator.
As he steps inside, on the right side of the cabin there's a neat panel of white buttons, numbered in perfect order.
Bobo squints at them, nods to himself, and presses –50.
The elevator lurches downward.
Hard.
Las groans. His eyes flutter open just as he realizes the elevator is plummeting with terrifying force.
He lifts his head, panic flooding his face.
Las (terrified):
"We're going to die!!"
Bobo (grinning):
"Yeeeep!"
Las:
"HEEELP!!"
The elevator slams into level –50 with a brutal impact.
Las is launched upward like a rubber ball, smashing his head against the ceiling, then drops back down—
—unconscious again.
Bobo calmly sits on the floor.
He starts clapping, laughing happily.
Bobo:
"Hahaha! That was awesome!"
From somewhere nearby, Obobo's voice echoes, amused and mocking.
Obobo:
"I really like this one, huh, Las?
Wanna do it again?
…Hey, are you okay? What happened to you?"
Las lies there, completely out cold, muttering in his sleep.
Las (weak, mumbling):
"I just… wanted to ask a few questions…"
Bobo lifts Las again, slinging him over his shoulder with ease.
Bobo:
"You're way too light. You should really put on some weight."
Las (groaning):
"Put me down, you crazy lizard!"
Bobo keeps whistling happily as the inner elevator door slides open.
Before them stretches a huge circular arena, its walls curving endlessly around the space.
At the far end stands a massive metallic gate, sealed tight—
like something on the other side is waiting to come out.
Bobo drops Las onto the floor.
Then he looks down and checks his belt, frowning slightly.
Las struggles to his feet, rubbing his head, wincing.
Las:
"At this rate, the only thing I'm gonna learn here is what a concussion feels like."
Bobo glances at him.
Bobo:
"Where's the papyrus?"
Las freezes.
He looks down at his belt.
His eyes snap wide open, cartoonishly.
Las:
"…Where's the papyrus?!"
Bobo raises an eyebrow.
Bobo:
"You're asking me? I'm asking you."
Las points back at him, panicked.
Las:
"I'm asking you!"
The arena falls silent.
The massive metal door doesn't move—
but it feels like something behind it just noticed them.
Las looks at Bobo, his voice suddenly going dumb and innocent.
Las:
"I dunno where it is… I probably lost it."
Bobo freezes.
His face tightens. His eyes water. He looks furious and on the verge of tears.
Bobo:
"I'm going to kill you, you little monkey."
He scratches his head hard, forcing himself to calm down.
Bobo (grumbling):
"…Whatever. Doesn't matter."
A strange mechanical sound comes from behind him.
Bobo turns his head.
Suddenly, a small robot rolls up on wheels, tiny legs clicking as it moves.
In its arms, it carries a rectangular metal suitcase, stamped with a cartoonish monkey face on the front.
Bobo lets out an ironic laugh.
Bobo:
"Finally. It's ready."
Las blinks.
Las:
"Ready… for what?"
Bobo:
"The miracle."
Las:
"What miracle?"
Bobo (deadpan):
"The miracle."
Without warning, the suitcase snaps open.
A burst of steam and cold vapor spills out as the lid lifts.
Inside rests a metallic mechanical arm—polished, flawless, gleaming like a diamond under the arena lights.
Las's eyes go wide open.
Las (shouting, shocked):
"WOOOOOW—IS THAT MINE?!"
Bobo:
"Yes. It's yours.
But it's also mine."
Las:
"I want it."
He rushes forward, grabs the metal arm like a toy, and tries to jam it onto his severed limb.
A sharp electric crackle fills the air.
Bobo's eyes bulge in a cartoonish rage.
Bobo (shouting):
"WATCH HOW YOU TOUCH IT!
It's not a toy—
…it's mine!"
Las:
"Ohhh yes it is a toy—and I want it. It's mine."
A loud CRACK echoes.
Bobo grabs the mechanical arm, trying to yank it away.
Las:
"What are you doing?! Let go of my arm!"
Bobo:
"No! You'll break it! Let go—I still need to do upgrades!"
Las:
"It's mine!"
They pull in opposite directions—
Bobo on one side, Las on the other—
SNAP.
The mechanical arm breaks cleanly in two.
Bobo lets out a high-pitched wail, collapsing to his knees.
Bobo (crying):
"The arm… it's broken…"
Las snorts, laughing mockingly.
Las:
"This is what you were gonna give me?
That's a plastic toy."
Bobo slowly lifts his head, eyes dark.
Bobo:
"This place will be your grave, monkey."
Suddenly—
The broken mechanical arm emits a metallic hum.
A sharp electrical whine builds.
The shattered pieces jerk violently, sliding across the floor, snapping back together as if pulled by an invisible magnetic force.
Sparks flash.
In seconds, the arm reassembles itself—perfect, seamless.
Then—
CLANG.
The arm launches forward and slams into Las's severed limb, locking in place like a magnet.
Las freezes.
His eyes tremble.
Las (shocked):
"What… is this?!"
Bobo straightens up, laughing coldly.
Bobo:
"Nanotech."
Las:
"Is that dangerous?"
Bobo:
"Only if you're stupid.
Las squints at him.
Las:
"Very funny."
He looks down at the mechanical arm, now fused perfectly to his body.
Slowly, carefully, he clenches his palm into a fist.
Metal flexes. Joints hum softly.
Las blinks.
Las:
"…It feels like I have my arm back."
Bobo immediately points a finger at him.
Bobo:
"Do you have any idea how long that took to build? Be careful."
Las smirks.
Las:
"Relax. Of course I'll treat it with lots of love."
Bobo stiffens.
Bobo:
"That sentence scares me.
…And one last thing."
A second small wheeled robot rolls up beside Las, holding Sifu's staff.
The staff is now wrapped in metallic cables, faint arcs of electricity running through them with a low crackle.
Las's eyes light up.
Las:
"My staff!"
Bobo nods proudly.
Bobo:
"Yes. Your staff.
I made a few upgrades—
it was cracked and about to break, so I reinforced it with iron using nanotechnology."
Las scowls.
Las:
"What is nanotechnology already?!"
Bobo snaps back instantly.
Bobo:
"Stop asking questions all the time!"
Las grabs Sithu's staff and spins it rapidly, testing its balance, laughing as sparks flicker along the cables.
Las (grinning):
"This is badass."
Suddenly, from behind the massive metal door of the arena, a sarcastic voice echoes out—
familiar… yet distorted, mechanical.
Voice:
"Just. Like. Me."
Las snaps his head toward the door.
Las:
"What was that…?"
He turns to Bobo—
—but Bobo is gone.
The robots are gone too.
Las's eyes dart around.
Then he notices it.
High above the arena, embedded into the inner wall, a small control room comes into view.
Behind a narrow window stands Bobo, grinning.
In front of him:
a large control panel, packed with buttons, switches, and heavy levers.
Las:
"Hey! What are you doing up there?!
Come down—I need help with my arm!"
Bobo laughs, amused, resting his hands on the panel.
From behind the arena door, multiple electronic voices begin to overlap—
mocking, distorted, dripping with sarcasm.
Voices:
"I'm awesome."
"I'm perfect."
"Little monkey."
"Ooooooh~"
Las's jaw tightens.
He clenches his metallic hand into a fist, the servos whining—
and grips Sithu's staff tightly with the other.
Bobo (calling down):
"Time for real training."
He pulls a heavy lever.
With a deep mechanical roar, the arena door lifts upward.
From the darkness inside, metallic shapes crawl forward—
Robotic, mechanical lizards, forged from steel and wire.
Each one bears the body and voice of Scarface—
twisted, copied, artificial.
One steps forward, its eyes glowing.
Machine (mocking):
"I see… a little monkey with a tail and a stick."
Another machine leans in, its voice dripping with ridicule.
Machine #2:
"A monkey robot—woooow."
Metal claws scrape against the arena floor.
Las stands his ground, breathing steady now—
staff humming with electricity, metal arm flexing at his side.
Above him, behind the glass, Bobo watches closely.
Las tilts his head, a crooked grin spreading across his face.
He lets out a short, ironic laugh, tightening his grip on Sithu's staff as electricity crackles softly along its cables.
Las:
"…This is going to be fun."
The robotic lizards shift, metal joints whining.
Their glowing eyes lock onto him.
Above, behind the glass, Bobo's smile widens.
The arena hums—
waiting for the first strike.
Continue....