They were all a mixture of angry and nervous. After everything that had befell them, they were going to get killed by us right in front of the transmission hub. That was probably not a very pleasant thought. 10-001 in particular singled me out. "You!? This is all your fault! Everything is ruined now because of you!" he screamed at me. I rolled my eyes. "C'mon. No one told you to take the bounty. When we were not dying to that toxic cocktail you force fed us, that should have clued you in to not fuck with us. You kept following us. This is your fault. If you just left us alone, things would have been okay for you." I told him. He went ballistic and charged straight towards me. I was not quite ready for that reaction. It startled me, but I was able to meet him and catch his fists in my hands. He was pissed and spitting with anger. However, no spit came out because he was a cyborg. He was in rage. The other 2 AEP units began to blast us with their organs. 10-002 could blast us with a pressurized cannon of toxic sludge. 10-003 could create thin needles made of toxic materials and throw them like senbon.
With nerves and joints being targeted constantly by the thin needles, it gave us all debuffs even though it had low damage. I was beating the shit out of 10-001. He made it hard to do anything else. He was so aggressive due to his blind hatred, that if I let up, he would be able to counter and really fuck me up with his limb blade. As it was 8 on 2, they got the other AEP units to critical health very quickly. I was able to kill 10-001 with a pillar of fire. As he was dying, he said "What did we do wrong to you!? You are too... scary." I did not know what to say to that. Turning to the others, they were getting ready to deliver the finishing blows. I said "Wait. If you surrender now, you can still live here with the new Toxic Clan." That made them pause. "Why would we trust you after all you did!?" 10-003 snapped. I said "You can trust me for now and live or try to fight us here and die. It's up to you." I turned to the others. "You can go ahead to the transmission hub. I will keep watch over these 2 for you." They nodded and continued to complete the mission. They looked at each other and then me. I could smell mischief.
I was going to have to nip it in the bud. I walked over to where 10-003 was on the ground. "I think that AEP units like you are really cool. You both fought until the end to defend your home. I think that is noble." I said as I quickly crouched by his side. He blinked at me and said "You think so?" I nodded. I said "I know so. So much, that I want to have babies with you." He blinked again and said "Babies? You want to mate with me!? But... we're enemies in different factions." 10-002 began to crawl over to us. "Don't touch him! A human can't crossbreed with an AEP unit! It has to all be a big trick. Don't listen to him 10-003!" he said. I did not know whether or not we could crossbreed. It PEP units and X-frames were apparently fair game though. "Let me prove my love for you. If we can make a hybrid child, you will marry me. If not, there is no reason to keep us together after we leave and start the new Toxic Clan. It is a good deal, yes?" I said. I only had to hold them back for 13 minutes. I did not care if either of them believed me. "No. If you fail to make offspring, I will kill you." 10-003 declared.
