“Are you sure this is smart?” I mumbled as I emptied a giant drum of nanites into the digestion pool.

  These nanites are immuo the effects of the acid, and will be swept up into the system along with the rest of the metal particutes. Sihey require a signal to activate, you wait until everything has been distributed, then bring the entire system down at once.

  “I’m sure it’ll be effective. I’m actually more ed that if we bring down the supports the entire upper level will e down on our heads,” I replied as I stepped away from the slurry.

  “You don’t have to worry about that. This little hideaway still has plenty of stone supports, and the eructure is reinforced by that polymer the antithesis seemed so fond of using around here,” Magpie expined. “It won’t colpse.”

  “Good to know. I’d hate to be remembered as a Samurai that survived fighting a Forty-Four, only to be crushed by her own inpetence,” I grumbled. “Where did Dreamer and Bob get off to?”

  “They went off to explore while you were setting up the nanites,” Humboldt said, pointing deeper into the cavern. “I think I see them back towards where we came in. How about you che them, while Magpie and I set up these supports?”

  I turned back towards where she ointing, and barely made out the oversized bear filing in the darkness. He seemed to be boung around, kig and pung at random. I immediately opened up my augs. “Bob… what are you doing?” I asked suspiciously.

  “We’re pying with the biters. They’re all over the pce! Dreamer is amazing at hide and seek, she seems to kly where they are. It was hard at the start, but it’s like they’re barely trying anymore, they’re just rushing towards us. They’re a lot easier to find when rushing forward as a glitchy mess, thahey’re pretending to be something else.”

  “You’re being rushed by stealth models?” I asked, raising my voice so it would reach Humboldt and Magpie. “Just Model he small ones?”

  “So far!” the bear replied. A moment ter I watched him slide about a foot to the side, only to lunge bad smash into something. “Nevermind, I found a big one!”

  “Fuck… gimme a minute.” I cut off the e to Bob and turo my patriots. “We have stealth models down here, and I’m really not set up to deal with them right now. How about you two?”

  “My suit has limited sensor capabilities. It detect Twenty-Ohat get close enough, but I rely oomated systems to cut down any hat get close enough to strike,” Humboldt reported.

  “I have spray paint!” Magpie added.

  “That’s great… but probably not the most useful. If a Twenty-Os close enough to get sprayed, they’re probably already mid-attack,” I replied. “Anything else?”

  “Gimme a mio dig through my bags,” Magpie said brightly, “I’m sure I have a couple things I try!”

  “I wish I’d brought Bandit,” I whispered to myself. In the distance I could see a small horde of glitchy blobs slip past Bob and head our dire. “Ining!” I yelled, lifting my rifle and firing at the Nines. Humboldt’s arms swept forward, sers slig into many of the blobs, while Magpie tio dig through her stuff.

  “Garrotte grenades!” Magpie called, throwing a couple orbs into the Nines’ path ohey got closer. The grenades exploded into a mess of thin wire, which dismembered the hat ran into them. “What else do I have?” she mumbled immediately, getting distracted by her bag again.

  “This is fine, for now!” I shouted over the sound of the sers and gunfire, “but I’d prefer to not get punched by one of those invisible fucks again. Anyone?”

  Even though there are a number of catalogs that would do the job, I doubt you want to spend the time evaluating them all right now. Might I suggest yer the nanites instead?

  “Nyx, I really don’t think this is the time to worry about breaking down the hive! The Nines and Twenty-Ones are a much more immediate issue!” I yelled as the glitchy blobs grew closer.

  It’s up to you. I just thought that activating the antithesis-dev goo that’s slowly being distributed along the roof directly above your oppos might be useful.

  I paused, just for a sed, as I processed that information. “Have the nanites already flooded the entire area?”

  No, but they’ve already spread far enough to cover the bat area. It’ll take awo or three minutes for them to make it to the farthest veins.

  “Then we wait. We hold for two minutes, I hope,” I said gunning down a blob that was making its way towards Magpie. “Just trigger it the instant the system is flooded.”

  “Taffy grenades!” Magpie yelled, chug a couple spheres around our small group. They exploded, coating the area and surrounding Nines in a thick yer of sticky dy.

  “Why do you even have that?!” Humboldt yelled.

  “Parties! Great for kids!” Magpie replied happily. She started reag down to dig through her bag again, only to stop and point to the left. “Twenty-One!”

  I swivelled, eyes straining to find the creature. It took me a few seds. The only sign of the creature rints iaffy, and a thin yer of the dy floating in the air.

  “I don’t have anything for it right now!” I snarled, as I fired my LCARS at the creature’s position, only to watch the missiles detonate iively.

  “Then keep on the Nines, I’ll deal with it!” Humboldt shouted in reply. Three of her sers swiveled, and immediately focused on a single location. I’d seen her ser arrays on the rger suit chew through a model Twelve, but this was much faster. There was the sound of sizzling flesh as a cauterized hole was quickly drilled in the air. The Twenty-One dropped its stealth, and attempted tle forward, but Humboldt just adjusted her aim and burned into its head instead, killing it almost instantly.

  “Fuck!” I screamed as it colpsed at my feet. I was quickly running out of ammo, and even Humboldt's arms were struggling to keep the Nines back.

  Suddenly the pipes, vines and other pnt matter coating the roof began dripping ichor, before the biological piping began to burst and coat the entire area in a thick grey sludge. All it did was obscure my vision for a moment, but the model Nines weren’t so lucky. The nanite-den liquid slowly begaing through their limbs, causing many of them to topple over, or struggle to advance. All around the area I could see a handful of Twenty-Ones, silhouetted in the gloom by a thick yer of sludge.

  “Nyx… it didn’t kill them,” I growled as I fired at the Nine.

  These nanites are desigo kill antithesis hives, and sihe nanites had to be optimized to survive the acid, they lost the replication fun. They’re still doing damage, but because they have to eat their way into the antithesis’s carapaces, they’re not quite as effective. It still crippled most of them.

  Magpie squealed. “I have the perfect thing! Nano accelerators!” she cried as she threw out a handful of boxes. When they here was a burst of power, causing the nearby o dissolve into sludge. “I didn’t think I’d get a ce to test those until I got bae!” she decred proudly.

  As the area around us cleared, I lowered my rifle and started scraping the remaining goo off my helmet. “Why didn’t you use those when Grey was around?” I grumbled. “Her e is made of nanites.”

  Maggie cocked her head to the side, pletely ign the thick yer of liquid coating her armor. “Didn’t think of that, maybe I’ll try them ime,” she said thoughtfully.

  While I struggled to myself off, Bob and Dreamer slowly wandered ba our dire. Bob looked like a drowned rat, with his fur all matted, but that didn’t stop him from stepping on the crippled Nines, and smashing whatever Twenty-One approached him

  Dreamer, oher hand, seemed to be having the time of her life. “Fall has e! Isn’t it magical whes lose their leaves?!” she said, while dang around occasionally beheading a nearby antithesis.

  “Leaves and everything else. Aren’t you bothered by all that slop you’re coated with? You’re not even wearing a helmet,” I asked.

  “Why? It’s just a natural pnt balm. Good for the skin!” she replied with a smile as she pranced away.

  I just shook my head at her antics. “Remihe ime we clear a hive to NOT stand i when triggering the nanites,” I told Humboldt.

  “Those nanites might have just saved your life,” she reminded me. “There are worse things than being covered in nanite sludge.” As she said this Dreamer danced by, humming some happy tune. “At least you don’t enjoy it,” she finished.