Aw man, after a little over a month I managed to finally scrape together this totally-not-crappy story, yay.

This chapter isn't too important to the overall story of R.U.N, in fact I was gonna include it in the novel version instead, but I figured it'd be a good idea to write it out now as practice for getting back into writing. I really hope you guys enjoy it, college has been kicking my ass sideways, so I'm not sure when I can upload my next story x.x

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27 hours.

That's how long Metal Gut said he would be gone for. According to the massive robot, it would only take 27 hours to fly to San-D, gather any and all nearby R.U.Ns, and forcibly subdue every resident before flying back. Of course, that number was merely a calculated guess, seeing as how there were plenty of unplanned circumstances that could be thrown in Metal Gut's way, but Aaron didn't know that.

For the past 2 hours, 29 minutes, and 15 seconds, the mechanical violet snake waited patiently at the entrance of his home, scanning the horizon for signs of his overlord. It was his duty as Metal Gut's right hand man to hold the fort whenever his leader leaves, and that was a duty he intended to uphold! Searching the skies one more time, the five LED screens on his head flickering briefly, stimulating five eyes blinking in unison. In the center of each screen was a single dot, meant to represent his pupils. Upon seeing a familiar blur in the distance, Aaron's "pupils" quickly dilated with glee as he leaned upright, shaking his head and tail in anticipation.

Metal Gut quickly spread out his limbs as he approached his factory, rapidly decelerating from his 600 Mph flight. Leaning his great body back, the massive robot touched down at the base of the building, narrowly avoiding stepping on Aaron; in fact, he wouldn't have even been aware of the serpentine R.U.N had he not heard Aaron's distinctive voice call out. "Hai, mastur! How ish you?" the robot snake called out, nuzzling his head against his overlord's leg affectionately.

Metal Gut scowled and pushed the anaconda away with his foot, marching straight into the factory. "Knock off that cutesy crap, Aaron. I'm in an extremely bad mood."

Surprised at the unexpected outburst, Aaron flickered his eyes in concern and quickly turned around. By using a complex assortment of battery-powered magnets, Aaron is able to imperceptibly vibrate his entire being, allowing him to seemingly glide along the ground as if he were a real snake. Slithering up to his massive ruler, the purple R.U.N lowered his head as he spoke in a formal tone. "My humblest apologies, sir. It was not my intentions to alienate you in any way. What may be the cause of your melancholy state?"

"Nothing! Everything's fine," Metal Gut growled, ducking his head in order to fit inside the building. If there was one thing that annoyed him more than being outsmarted by two fat reptiles, it was being reminded about his flaws, whether or not Aaron was intentionally doing so.

Oblivious to the negative reception, the five-eyed snake continued to barrage his leader with more inquiries. "With all due respect, sir, I'm detecting a hint of malice present in your voice. Would you care to speak your issues? Did you get lost in another dust storm again?"

It took nearly all of Metal Gut's willpower to resist stomping on Aaron at that instant. Clenching his metallic fists, the robotic behemoth ignored the anaconda and instead chose to focus on something that always calmed his nerves: the sight of his army of R.U.Ns bustling about, each with their own agendas. The factory was full of the chubby robots, their colorful metallic plating making them stand out in contrast to the dull grey room. Some were busy cleaning the entire area of dust, brushing off the floors, walls, and even other R.U.Ns; however, most of them stood in a series of single file lines at the back of the factory, each waiting in line to be restocked, or "fed" as Metal Gut preferred, by a complicated series of tubes, each leading into the wall. Just looking at said wall made Metal Gut grin, the fat giant feeling quite giddy at what lay behind the large structure.

"Please answer my questions, sir, so I can provide you with additional backup in case the wind picks up again."

The snake's voice quickly derailed Metal Gut's train of thought as he shifted his attention from the wall to Aaron. "I told you, everything went fine! I finally captured San-D and most of its inhabitants! What else do you need from me, my serial number?"

Tilting his head curiously, Aaron slithered out of the way of a lion R.U.N stumbling around haphazardly due to ingesting too much food and losing its sense of balance. "Most of its inhabitants? Am I correct in believing that some of them got away, sir?"

Metal Gut paused for a moment, clenching his fist yet again before continuing with a metallic sigh. "Yes, you're correct in believing that, but I was so close! I had them all right where I wanted them: cornered between my army and myself. You should have seen the look on their faces when I showed up and stood over them. Some of them were even crying!" he chuckled softly, briefly relishing in the moment. "Of course, I made the mistake in asking who was planning on running away to find the jerks who abandoned us on this planet. Some fatass elephant said it was him and stalled me while this lizard and dragon drove off on these old ATVs. For the last several days, I've been flying overhead, trying to snatch those pesky reptiles and stop anymore plans of running away, but every time I got close, they drove around in circles and created a dust cloud! What am I supposed to do against that?" he cried out, the sorrow of being defeated evident on his voice.

Just thinking back to that moment brought a terrible pain to Metal Gut's chest, something he shouldn't have felt due to his lack of a nervous system. Despite the seemingly sound logic, the metallic behemoth almost cried out in agony as the sensation continued to spread, along with other uninterpretable feelings. Anger, frustration, humiliation, and more swirled inside the behemoth's mind, the fluid emotions conflicting with static personality all R.U.Ns were created with. The more he tried fighting it, the more his mind clouded up with these useless thoughts and feelings. He could already feel parts of his mind start to overload as it struggled to process the torrent of emotions, dangerously overheating his CPU. Why do I have this flaw? He thought to himself repeatedly, his head growing alarmingly warm from the burdening thoughts.

Without warning, Metal Gut bent over and scooped the nearest R.U.N off the ground: an arctic fox on his way to wait in line at the feeding machine. With a loud yell, the emotionally disturbed giant threw the smaller robot against the nearby wall, watching as the fox slammed against the metal surface with a loud CLANG! For a moment, the vulpine's body lay stuck against the wall from the sheer force at which he was thrown at, before slowly sliding down, his metal body scraping against the surface. Once he landed on the floor, the little fox shakily stood back up, smiling happily despite his missing ear and a giant dent in his muzzle. Unable to register the sudden act of violence as anything malicious, the R.U.N slowly limped towards the back of the line to the feeding machine while under the gaze of an envious Metal Gut. Lucky bastard.

"Um… sir?"

"What is it?" Metal Gut growled as he turned back towards Aaron, who had quickly slithered himself out of arms reach of the metal giant.

"Have you considered hurling any projectiles at your adversaries, sir? You certainly have the strength needed to take them down at a distance."

"Don't be stupid, Aaron. You know my programming won't allow me to intentionally harm a living being," Metal Gut angrily folded his arms across his chest, resting his limbs on his massive stomach. Before he could scold the violet snake even further, however, a sudden idea quickly flickered on inside the evil despot's head. "Oh! But what if I fling something at them that would slow them down enough for me to catch them!" he exclaimed, looking over Aaron excitedly.

Seeing where this was leading too, the robot snake frowned and slithered a few paces backwards. "I'm afraid I'm actually rather frail. I doubt I would be a suitable missile for you to launch… unless you'd like for me to shatter into several irreparable pieces, sir."

"Oh, that's a shame," the winged android grumbled as he placed his chubby head on his paw, rubbing his rounded chin with his fingers, producing an ear-splitting grinding noise. With a grin, Metal Gut slowly reached over and gave his second in command a gentle pat on the head, much to the violet anaconda's uneasiness. "What if I handled you with a little care and, say, placed you directly in front of the two fat lizards? Would you be able to keep them still long enough for me to gobble them up?"

Keeping his head still throughout the petting, Aaron eagerly returned the smile to his leader. "Absolutely, sir! It will be my honor to ensnare those hooligans if it means aiding you. I was built to serve others, after all!"

"Good!" Metal Gut's grin widened until it was a sinister smirk. "I certainly hope you do manage to capture those lizards as well. It would be a shame if you let them get away; I'd be so angry, I might accidently leave you looking like that fox over there," he gestured to the R.U.N he threw earlier, the robot fox having collapsed onto the floor on his way to the feeding machine, his right leg detached after receiving a swift blow from Metal Gut's tail.

Patting the snake's head one more time, the obese robot stood back up and walked towards the feeding machine, kicking over any R.U.Ns who didn't scatter out of the way. "I better top myself up with as much food as possible. I'm sure those poor, little reptiles would enjoy a large feast from yours truly," he snickered as he grabbed several hoses dispensing food and shoved them in his mouth.

"Um, before you do that, sir," Aaron called out to the giant, quickly slithering next to the winged wolf's large feet. "I'm detecting signs of life inside of your stomach."

"Huh… Oh shoot, I completely forgot! I had myself a little snack when visiting San-D," Metal Gut laughed heartily as he pulled the hoses out of his maw, flinging them back to the patiently waiting R.U.Ns beside him. With a quiet hiss, two of his chest plates lifted up and opened themselves, creating a hole large enough for the robot giant to reach his paw inside. Being the psychotic entity that he is, Metal Gut couldn't help but hum a small tune he heard several centuries ago when he was still being built. "All around the mulberry bush, the monkey chased the weasel, the monkey stopped to pull up his sock…" With a sudden grin, Metal Gut yanked his arm out of his stomach, holding out a dazed and confused Rawe.

"Well, look what I caught here," the giant tyrant let out a static chuckle as he clutched the plump wolf, shaking the poor creature mercilessly. "Rise and shine, mister Rawe! You’ve got a busy day ahead, and I'd hate for you to sleep through it!"

Groaning and whimpering from the cruel convulsions, Rawe slowly came to, his vision a complete blur thanks to Metal Gut. Spending two whole days inside the monster's stomach, with absolutely no light and nothing to eat but plastic wrapped snack cakes caused the muscular canine to put on a few pounds, his extra blubber squishing around Metal Gut's fingers. Rawe became temporarily blinded once exposed to the direct sunlight shining through the holes on the derelict factory's ceiling. Holding his paws up to shield himself, the white wolf began to notice several unsettling images. Instead of waking up in his bed back home at San-D, Rawe was clutched in the death grip of a mechanical paw 20 feet above the ground, surrounded by a literal army of R.U.Ns. Just looking down caused the frightened wolf to let out a yip, which alerted a few of the feeder robots down below. Trembling in fear, he slowly slunk into Metal Gut's palm, much to the giant's amusement. "Haharr, don't be shy, little buddy! These are your new coworkers, and they are all excited to meet you. Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life!"

"C-c-coworkers?!" Rawe spat out, his eyes as wide as dinner plates. Already, he could feel his heart start palpitating, the very thought of working with those soulless machines too much for him to handle. With adrenaline surging through his body, the bloated wolf leapt from Metal Gut's open paw and dived towards the giant's gaping chest, only to be snatched up right before he made it.

"Phew, that was a close one," Metal Gut teased as he shut his chest shut again, even giving it a reassuring pat. "I'm glad to see that bravery of yours certainly didn't leave you like it did back in San-D. You've got guts, and I'm gonna make sure you get plenty more by working for me!" Holding two chubby fingers to his lips, Metal Gut blew out a long whistle, which sounded more like scratching a window pane than an actual whistle. "Hey pops, get over here!"

Out of the massive group of R.U.Ns in front of them, Rawe noticed a robot fox quickly make his way to the front, his metal tail creaking as it wagged. "Hi, sir! How can I help you?"

"I think you know how you can help me," Metal Gut chuckled as he lowered Rawe, much to the fat wolf's horror. Once his paw reached the floor, the mechanical tyrant shoved Rawe off his hand, sending the wolf onto the ground in a jiggling frenzy.

The vulpine R.U.N didn't even wait for Rawe to get off the ground, instead electing to grab the wolf's paw and shake it vigorously right away. "Oh, pleased to meet you, sir! My name is Alex, and I can't wait to work with you!"

Laughing at the silly exchange, Metal Gut quickly gripped Rawe's arm and heaved him upright, the hefty wolf forced to lean against Alex for support. "This is Alex, or as I like to call him, Pops. He's gonna be your supervisor for as long you live. You make sure you do everything he says, unless you want to find out how he got his nickname!"

"Wait, what?!" Rawe shouted back, but his cries fell on deaf ears as Alex swiftly dragged him towards the back of the factory, all while talking cheerfully. "Oh, don't mind him. I learned to only feed my employees 6 helpings per meal instead of 10 after the incident! Now, let's get to work, unless you'd like a quick lunch break first!"

A wicked grin spread across Metal Gut's face as he listened to Rawe's suddenly shouts and pleads for help. Nearby R.U.Ns turned their head to watch the screaming and kicking wolf, but were otherwise uninterested in the strange spectacle. Soon, both Rawe and Alex disappeared behind two large swinging doors, leading to another part of the giant factory. Oh, how Metal Gut wished he wasn't busy sticking the feeding tubes down his throat that he could witness Rawe's reaction when he saw what was behind those doors. The metal monster's favorite part of catching survivors was watching the new furs squeal in terror as they witnessed the massive garden out back, full of living creatures like themselves forced to labor away at the soil, all while supervised by a R.U.N of Metal Gut's choosing. When they weren't sowing, planting, or reaping crops, the slaves got to "enjoy" eating their own crops, with or without the help of their supervisor R.U.Ns. With the impossibly high number of calories crammed into each fruit or veggie, plus the ridiculous amounts of crops grown due to their impressive regime, everyone was guaranteed to grow a few inches wider after every successful harvest. It was easy to tell who had worked at the factory the longest by the size of their waistlines, with the older workers all nearly as wide as they were tall. If it weren't for the vigorous excersize they received from heaving their bulk all around the garden, many of the obese slaves would have grown immobile!

Metal Gut grinned as he swallowed away at the tube, mentally picturing Callum and Ty the size of one of the aforementioned slaves. It would only be a matter of time before he caught the two pesky lizards and transformed him into two spheres of waddling fat… but why stop there? They've been so troublesome to him lately, so why not force feed them further, forcing them to either explode, or grow bigger? He could devote his entire workforce into nurturing them for all of eternity, make them into two giant figures as a warning to any hero who would dare attempt to contact the abandoners. He could imagine it now, his two adversaries chained against the wall, with R.U.Ns dying to feed them crawling all over their blubbery bodies. In less than a month the two reptiles would be the size of that one pesky mammoth he met at San-D, so imagine how massive they'd grow after two months, or a year, or ten! He'd have to get a bigger factory just to contain them!

Wagging his cylindrical tail, Metal Gut continued to smile as he kept eating, ignoring the creaking sounds his gut was making. Moments like these were one of the rare moments he actually enjoyed having emotions.