Wohoo, more fat robots and fatter villagers! ^^

I know it's weird to say this, but I think playing Xenoblade Chronicles X is helping me with the story. I'm able to imagine much more vivid scenes than before thanks to that game. And who says videogames stifle creativity?

I hope you enjoy this chapter, it was a ton of fun to write! ^^

---

Despite the moderately warm weather, Ty felt himself shivering like a leaf as he stared up at the 30-foot tall robotic monster known as Metal Gut. Any hope he had of escaping from the R.U.N army had quickly drained away once the massive robot suddenly showed up. The chubby lizard's heart felt like a ticking time bomb, each "tick" sending an ice-cold shiver down his spine as he awaits the inevitable detonation, resulting in a surely lethal heart attack. Ty couldn't even look away from Metal Gut, his body completely frozen in fear as he stared up at the giant sinister face. All hope was lost. This was where he would meet his end: force-fed into oblivion by a horde of crazed R.U.Ns. It was safe to assume that the villagers felt the same way as well, the frightened furs backed into a corner as if they were cattle about to be preyed on by a pack of hungry wolves, an ironic comparison, considering the townsfolk would be the ones who ended up full.

Metal Gut continued to survey the crowd gathered in front of him, seemingly unaware of the mass fear his presence was causing. If anything, the robotic behemoth appeared to be enjoying the panic, his smile spreading every time he heard a cry. "It's about time I finally found this village. All the dust had been gettin' in the way of my scanners," He spoke in his rustic accent, before continuing. "So, which one of ya worked up the gall to bring me here?" the metal monstrosity asked, rubbing his chubby face thoughtfully. "Surely, it can't be any of you. None of ya look too pleased to see me, ha harr!"

Swallowing a large lump that had formed in his throat, Rawe tentatively stepped forward, walking passed the unconscious Erik. "U-um, I was the one who, um, called you, sir," the muscular white wolf stated, his bolstering confidence having been dwindled down once he was in the presence of the massive monstrosity.

Turning his large body around, Metal Gut looked at the timid canine, smiling cruelly. "Ah, so you're the brave little hero who saved this entire village from hunger! It's a good thing you called me here when ya did. I can tell just from looking at your poor, skinny villagers that you're all in dire need of some proper nourishment!" Without warning, Metal Gut bent over and snatched Rawe in his massive metal paw, holding the frightened wolf up to his glowing green eye. "Would you like a hero's reward?" He whispered in a menacingly calm voice.

"I..I..I.." was all Rawe could say, shivering uncontrollably as he cowered against the back of Metal Gut's cold hand, his heart thundering in his chest. Everything about this situation felt so wrong! He thought that, by willingly inviting the R.U.Ns into the village and using them as a food supply, they wouldn't have to force feed everyone while preventing the food rations from depleting. Instead, the white wolf was being toyed with by a soulless monster, who was apparently enjoying the mass hysteria he was producing. Swallowing the huge lump that had appeared in his throat, Rawe attempted to talk his way out of his situation. "I-I'm no hero, s-sir. I b-betrayed my chief, my v-village, and my friends. I-I don't deserve any reward," the white wolf whimpered pitifully as the words spewed out of his mouth, realizing all too well just how much truth they contained.

Metal Gut tilted his great head to the side as he observed the canine, as if he were a scientist studying an interesting specimen. For a moment, Rawe felt a bit of confidence slowly creep back into his shaken body. Maybe the giant robot felt pity for him and would set him back down with the other villagers. It was obvious that the metallic behemoth had an unusual personality compared to the average R.U.N, so maybe he could be reasoned with. Perhaps he could try to convince the robot to set him down and leave the vill-

"Did you honestly think I would have sympathy for the likes of you?" Metal Gut responded after a brief moment, his dreaded smirk returning to his face. All hopes of clemency from the robot were instantly flushed away as Rawe's eyes widened with terror, the white wolf dumbfounded at how a robot could read his mind like a book. Holding the wolf tighter in a literal iron grip, Metal Gut raised the yelping canine over his muzzle and shouted out: "Nothing personal, but I just can't stand tattle tales!"

Then he dropped Rawe into his gaping maw.

A horrified gasp could be heard from everyone watching the abhorrent spectacle as Rawe disappeared inside Metal Gut's maw, his screams slowly dying out as he fell deeper into the belly of the beast. Even Ty and Callum couldn't suppress a horrified gasp as their fellow villager was eaten alive. It was bad enough they had to deal with robots force feeding them, but to actually encounter a robot who ate other furs felt like a nightmare come alive. It didn't help matters much that Metal Gut was making a big spectacle out of it, audibly smacking his lips and rubbing his rotund middle. After letting out a 'burp,' which sounded more like a mixture between T.V static and radio interference, the obese robot let out a hearty metallic laugh.

"Aha ha ha har! You should the look on yer faces! Priceless!" he exclaimed, leaning his head back. Wiping an imaginary tear from his eye, Metal Gut slowly settled down and continued. "Eheheh, it's against my programming' to harm another livin' being. That scardy cat is just having a little time out inside me is all. Besides, there's tons of food inside my big ol' gut, which is exactly what he wanted, right? I'll let him out once he settles down a bit," he said cheerfully, his strange accent coming back as he rubbed the surface of his grey stomach casually.

"Now, on to a more serious matter," Metal Gut continued, giving his iron belly a few pats before looking down at the crowd yet again. "I was told that there was someone here who was thinkin' about running off and leaving this planet to find the people who abandoned us. The last thing we want is to have those rotten scumbags come back and make us into slaves again, right?" He asked, his robotic voice containing a hint of malice that sent a shiver down Ty's spine, knowing that Metal Gut was talking about him and Cal. "So, where's the brave, little hero that wants to run off and bring back those horrible people?"

Nobody said a word. Nobody could, even if they tried. Ty and Callum exchanged a hasty glance towards each other, their eyes full of anxiety. Out of the corner of their vision, the chubby duo barely noticed their friend Tyrex staring at them.

"Speak up, now! I promise I won't bite! I eat everything in one gulp," Metal Gut chortled as he stared at the frightened furs, searching for anyone looking particularly guilty. His glowing green eyes lingered slightly on Callum and Ty before suddenly pulling his head back, grinning maliciously.

Yet again, Metal Gut received zero response from the villagers. Ty took a hesitant step backwards as the obese robot glared down at him, the blue lizard considering whether or not running away when the robot was looking somewhere else.

With an electronic huff, Metal Gut frowned as he looked down at the people. "I can wait here aaaaaall day, ya know. I'm a robot, I can withstand the test of time without feeling bored. I just hope you know that I tend to get a little… hungry when I wait too long," he added with a slight grin as he peered through the crowd with a ravenous expression. Soon, the fat android's eyes literally lit up as he picked out his target, a little green and red dragon who looked ready to pee his pants. "Last chance to tell me before I treat myself to this little morsel!" Metal Gut announched as he leaned forward, spreading his massive grey wings to appear even more menacing as he could, just so he could listen to Toon's whimpering.

Biting his lip anxiously, Ty quickly turned his head towards Callum, hoping that the grey drake could offer some advice on what to do. It was either allow that monster to devour the innocent child, or doom themselves to an eternity of force feeding, none of which looked really appealing to the two reptiles. Instead of meeting Ty's gaze, Callum was staring at the ground, hiding his expression from his friend. Closing his eyes tight, the chubby dragon clenched his fist and started to slowly raise his arm.

"Don't do it!" Ty wanted to shout, but nothing came out of his muzzle. He knew this was the right choice, but the blue lizard couldn't bring himself to watch his friend take the fall. Deep down, Ty was scolding himself for being so cowardly, but against a mechanical tyrant like Metal Gut, what could he do? He never expected himself to be put in such a strange and horrible situation. Everything happened so fast, he never got the time to properly react.

"I am! I'm the one… who's gonna leave… to bring back the furs… who left Earth!"

Metal Gut's grin widened considerably as he stood upright, leaving the frightened Toon to run off and hide inside the Mess Hall. Turning around to greet whoever spoke up, the metal giant's chubby jaw dropped as he saw who shouted out to him: a massively obese mammoth who could barely stand on his own. "You!? You plan on traveling around the world?! I bet you can't even travel ten feet!" Metal Gut roared with laughter, very amused at Wooly's bold claims, much to the rotund pachyderm's annoyance.

"Speak for yourself, tubby…I can literally… feel the ground shake… when you walk!" Wooly spat back, breathing heavily as he squared off against the metal tyrant. Normally, the morbidly obese pachyderm needed help just to remain on his own two feet, but this time, he stood proud and firm, as if his own conviction was power enough to hold his massive bulk.

Metal Gut chuckled yet again and leaned back, patting his round belly. "Ha ha harr, now you're just being silly. Of course I weigh more than you, I'm six times your size! Plus, I have several tons of food and a wolf in my stomach!" the giant robot grinned, picking his sharp teeth with his pinky.

"Well… how do we know… robots can't get fat… on their own?" Wooly hypothesized. "For all we know… you could have been… built skinnier… but your stomach stretched… because you kept… cramming food in it!"

With a raspy sigh, Metal Gut, now looking more annoyed than amused, slammed his palm into his face, resulting in a very noisy CLANK! "Do I really have to give you a lecture on the properties of metal? I mean, I know none of you are smart, which is why you were left behind on this planet while everyone else abandoned you, but surely you can't be that stupid, right?" he asked, ignoring the deadly glares being casted his way by the insulted crowd. However, had he chosen to pay attention to the crowd instead, Metal Gut would have noticed three figures had mysteriously disappeared…

---

Callum flailed his arms wildly in order to keep his balance as Tyrex dragged him away with Ty. In the middle of Metal Gut's ranting, the fat blue dragon managed to grab the two chubby reptiles and pull them out from the crowd, leading them down the street. "Where are you taking us?" the grey drake asked, struggling to remain upright from the other dragon's surprisingly brisk pace.

"You'll see in just a sec," Tyrex hastily responded as he continued pulling, moving as fast as his hefty legs could carry him. As he approached the end of the street, the blue and white dragon swiftly led his friends towards one of the larger buildings. Wasting no time, Tyrex shoved open the door and pushed the confused reptiles inside before shutting the door behind them.

Dust quickly filled the air due to the gust of wind caused by Tyrex's forceful shoving. Covering his muzzle with his arm, Ty began coughing furious as the dirt invaded his senses. "Oof, this place is a dust trap. When's the last time someone's been in here?" the chubby lizard asked in between his spastic wheezing, tears flooding his eyes from the force of his coughs.

"Not too recently, that's for sure," Tyrex responded abruptly as he padded around in the darkness, holding his paws blindly in front of him. Once he reached the window, the big blue dragon grabbed a curtain and flung it to the side, letting sunlight fill the room. "This is where we used to keep any relics from the past that one of us would find. A few years ago, Erik told us to stop looking for relics, saying it's a bad habit to cling to the past, and that we should focus on the present instead. Most of the stuff in here is old and broken, but I think there's a few things in here that might prove serviceable."

Callum was barely listening to the fellow dragon's rambling as he looked around the room, his eyes wide with attentiveness. From what he could gather, they were currently standing in a large tool shed, filled to the brim with dilapidated, broken tools and parts. There was a large lawn mower with a broken handle pressing against his chubby thigh, while the front half of a vacuum laid strewn out in front of him. However, none of those ancient relics were the reason for Callum's shock. Standing right in front of him were two large ATV's, their shiny red coating causing them to stand out amidst the dirty piles of junk around them.

Seeing Callum's expression, Tyrex smiled slightly and waded over to the two vehicles. "We used to use these bad boys to gather food from any nearby factories, but Rawe was worried the noise they made would attract R.U.Ns to our village, so we put them out of commission. I still like to come here and polish them in the hopes that we can find another use for them. I take it you're a fellow gear-head?"

Walking next to the shiny All Terrain Vehicle, Callum stroked the leather seat gently and nodded. "My parents used to take me ATV riding along the trails by our cabin in the woods. I remember how scared I was the first time, thinking that a bear or something would come out and attack me. After a while, I quickly grew to like riding through the forest, especially at night, when everything was calm and peace," the dragon explained, feeling his voice start to shake at the excitement from expressing his newly found memories as a kid.

Tyrex smiled back as waded over to a work bench, carefully brushing aside several mounds of junk. "That's perfect, it saves me the trouble of teaching you how to ride them." Grabbing a flattened spherical object, the fat dragon waddled back and placed it in Ty's hand. "This is a compass. When you leave, make sure the red needle is pointing to the big E and follow that direction. It'll take a few weeks or months, but when you get to the shore, look for a ferry to take you across the ocean to the First World. You can find the launch site from there."

Ty could barely understand what was going on around him anymore. Everything had happened so fast, it made the blue lizard lose track of what was happening, his mind completely overwhelmed. "Wait a minute… we're going to the launch site?"

"Of course! Isn't that where you said you wanted to go? You two did mention you wanted to go there a few hours ago during dinner," Tyrex chuckled dryly, his laughter containing very little enthusiasm.

Slowly catching onto things, Ty looked at the dragon, sensing the sadness in his eyes. "Wait… you're not coming with us?"

Letting out another false chuckle, Tyrex nodded slowly. "We only have two ATVs, and I'm starting to reach the weight limit for one of them. You two will have to take it from here." The fat dragon explained, his broad grin unable to hide the sadness in his voice.

Baffled at what the dragon was suggesting, Ty said the first thing to come to his mind. "Why are you doing this for us?"

Slowly lowering his smile, Tyrex sighed and leaned against a small mound of junk, dropping eye contact with the two concerned reptiles. "I should have known our lifestyles were gonna change soon… that nothing was gonna last. The buildings are crumbling, the Earth isn't producing much food, we're running out of housing, and none of us know how to fix it. Sooner or later, something drastic was bound to happen, I just didn't think it'd be this soon."

The blue dragon heaved another heavy sigh before looking up at his friends, his eyes moist with unshed tears. "Rawe was just trying to help. His mind was only worried about making sure we had enough to eat, so we could survive and endure. He wanted change for the better, and now he's in that monster's stomach…"

Tyrex took a moment to blink, two large tears flowing down his cheeks, before opening and continuing his speech. "So now, I'm going to try and help change this village for the better, and for that I'll need your help. Please, please bring back the people who left our planet to save! Don't let us spend an eternity with that monster, forced into who knows what kind of hell he has planned for us!"

Neither Ty nor Callum knew how to respond, both reptiles struggling to blink back tears of their own. Even if it was only briefly, they had a wonderful time in San-D: making friends, eating delicious food, and just being a part of a community. To see it all change for the worse so quickly was painful enough, but being forced to leave it behind, along with your friends and memories was enough to make any grown lizard cry. Wiping his sodden eyes with a finger, Callum walked forward and clutched the other dragon's claw, gripping firmly while maintaining eye contact. "On my honor as a friend and member of San-D, I promise you I'll come back and save everyone, no matter what!"

---

"For the sixth time now, I'm a D.E.N.Y.A class R.U.N. That stands for Deliverer of Emergency Nutrition to Yonder Areas. I was built to transport tons of food around the world to anyone who needs it. I was made to be fat so I could carry more food, understand?" Metal Gut explained with a raspy sigh, the robot's amused expression quickly deteriorating into one of utter annoyance.

Despite the monster's shortening temper, however, Wooly continued to speak up, the obese mammoth's breaths coming out quicker due to standing up for so long. "I've never seen… a D.E.N.Y.A before… How do I know… you didn't… eat them, you fatty?" the massive pachyderm smirked.

That smile quickly faded as Metal Gut let out a mighty roar of frustration, forcing Wooly raise his thick arms and cover his ears. "I've had enough! I can't stand to listen to another word of your idiotic jargon!" he exclaimed, pointing a finger at the startled mammoth. "I'm an elite machine programmed to end world hunger, while you're nothing more than a useless pile of lard! While I'm flying around making a difference in the world, you're stuffing your fat face while destroying a couch with your giant ass! You're nothing compared to me!"

Slightly taken aback, Wooly looked up at the mighty hunk of metal towering over him. Taking a few gasping breaths, the obese pachyderm folded his doughy arms and grinned right back, much to Metal Gut's increasing despair. "I used to think… the exact same way… about myself… that I didn't matter… to anyone… because of how much I've grown," he said, stroking the top of his corpulent stomach. "But a couple of numbskull lizards… came by and told me I was wrong… and for whatever reason, I believed them… Now, I know they were right about me… because, even with all of this blubber… I managed to buy some time!"

The very distinct sound of two engines revving up could be heard in the distance, the noise gradually diming as they sped away. For a moment, Metal Gut was completely dumbstruck from the very notion that he, a super advanced A.I, could be outsmarted by a pachyderm too fat to move on his own. Turning to his army of R.U.Ns, the giant robot ushered a single command: "Get them."

Mass panic erupted as the smaller androids rushed towards the crowd, grabbing the frightened villagers and, in most cases, force feeding them. Erik was promptly lifted off the ground by two cheetah R.U.Ns, dragging the unconscious dragon towards the crowd. Unable to escape, Wooly watched as three canine R.U.Ns swiftly approached him, holding him tight as they took turns cramming slice after slice of cake into his maw, crumbs smearing onto his multiple chins.

Satisfied with what he saw, Metal Gut turned around and squatted, the tips of his wings glowing a bright blue. With one mighty leap, the rotund robot rocketed into the air, sending dust scattering around him as he flew towards his real targets.

---

Ty whimpered as he accidently drove over a small bump, causing his ATV to shake. While Callum needed no instructions on how to ride his vehicle due to his recovered memory, the blue lizard barely had any idea on how to drive at all. It was all he could do at this point to prevent himself from sliding off as they drove away from the village. The dusty expanse that spread out before them didn't help his confidence much, as it meant that dirt would be flying into his face, reducing much-needed visibility. Straddling his seat as tightly as he could, Ty continued to ride beside his friend, his knuckles turning white due to how hard he was gripping the handles.

"Hey, are you alright?" Callum shouted, the chubby dragon noticing the lizard's tense pose.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ty responded, his words betraying his thoughts. In no way did he feel he feel fine in this current situation. Here he was running away from the only home he knew, riding an unfamiliar vehicle while his friends were force fed by an army of crazy robots. He could already imagine Tyrex swelling outwards into the shape of a fatty ball, unable to move without the help of R.U.N's rolling him around. To make matters worse, they had to pray that Metal Gut wouldn't discover they had left and fly out after them. Even with the brisk pace they were traveling, Ty still felt very exposed, their bright red vehicles sticking out amidst the endless brown valley. Until they found shelter, he was practically a sitting-

"Duck!" Callum cried out, breaking Ty away from his thoughts. Caught off guard from the sudden shouting, the pudgy blue lizard haphazardly steered his ATV to the side, and just in time too. A loud WHOOSH could be heard as Metal Gut flew by, his arms barely missing both reptiles by an inch. Soaring upwards, the metallic monster circled around above them, his round body blocking out the sun. "Did you honestly think you could escape from me?" he shouted out, the robot's booming voice reverberating throughout the valley. "I was made to find scrawny worms like you! Why don't you surrender and enjoy a hot plate of cookies? Give up now, because I tend to get pretty hungry when I fly around for too long!" he cackled as he slowly circled lower and lower, his arms outstretched and ready to snatch up his prey at a moment's notice.

Callum grit his teeth as he looked up at the evil leviathan, unable to distance himself from those treacherous hands. Normally, the dragon would speed up, but he was certain that Metal Gut would have no problem accelerating to match their velocity. Besides, that wouldn't be fair to Ty, who was currently lagging after taking his eyes off the road to stare at his impending doom. As much as he'd like to run away, Callum would never leave his friend in the dust…

Wait a minute…

"Ty, I have an idea!" Callum shouted back to his friend. Seeing the frightened lizard force himself to look forward, the dragon grinned. "This is a long shot, but it should buy us some time. Just follow my lead!" And with that, he made a sharp turn to the right.

"A-alright!" Ty responded, quickly following suit. Figuring that Callum had found a place to hide, the lizard eagerly turned his craft right, squinting as his face was assaulted with a cloud of dust. To his surprise, the dragon continued turning right, making large donuts in the dirt. Not quite understanding where Callum was going with this but too panicked to try anything different, Ty followed his friend, closing his eyes as they spun around in the dirt.

Metal Gut slowed his decent once the dust started to pick up, his scanners finding difficulty in tracking their movements behind the veil of dirt. "Hey, slow down you two!" he called out, his voice lost in the wind the two ATVs were generating. The column of dirt continued to rise higher and higher, soon engulfing Metal Gut in it as well. Worried that all of this dust would infiltrate his wiring and cause him to short-circuit, the giant android quickly flew out of the cloud.

It was by pure coincidence that a gust of wind managed to blow through the valley, washing out the sounds of the ATVs while strengthening the intensity of the dust storm. Scowling in defeat, Metal Gut was forced to fly higher and higher in order to protect himself. He was nearly 400 feet high when the wind started to die down, as well as the column of dirt. Even as he descended, Metal Gut knew he had lost, for the two lizards had disappeared as well, along with any trace of their vehicles.