:

Copyright © 2025 by J.K. Moore

Digi 995: The Final Purge

Second Edition

All rights are reserved solely by the author. The author guarantees that all content is original and does not infringe upon the legal rights of any other person or work. No part of this book may be reproduced without the author’s permission. The views expressed in this book are not necessarily those of the publisher.

Chapter One

The Sands of Reckoning

The air shimmered with heat, bending the horizon like a mirage. Towering sandstone structures loomed in the distance, their weathered surfaces etched with the stories of a civilization long gone. Endless dunes stretched in every direction, their golden waves shifting restlessly under the merciless sun.

Digi stood at the edge of a desolate road, his metallic frame already coated in a thin layer of dust. The sun cast long shadows against the ruins of an ancient city, half-buried in the sands, its grand columns standing like forgotten sentinels. He had no idea how he had arrived here—only that he was alone, without his magic-infused weapons, a guide, or a map.

And that was a problem.

His internal systems buzzed as he scanned his surroundings, searching for any clue, any sign of direction. Nothing. Just sand, ruins, and the distant whisper of the wind carrying the echoes of something unseen. He could feel an unease crawling in his circuits, an awareness that trouble lurked beyond his vision.

He reached into his storage compartment and pulled out his restoration cards. Their edges pulsed faintly, the only source of magic he had left. But he wasn’t ready to use them. Not yet. If he lost them, he’d have nothing. And something told him he’d need them more than ever before.

First, he needed a map.

Taking a cautious step forward, he began his search, every movement careful, every sense alert. The deeper he ventured into the ruins, the stronger the feeling grew.

He wasn’t alone.

Digi wandered through the shifting desert, each step sinking slightly into the scorching sand. The sun blazed overhead, its light relentless, reflecting off the golden dunes like molten fire. His system calculated temperature spikes every few minutes, warning him of the rising heat levels. If he were human, exhaustion would have set in long ago.

But it wasn’t just the heat that troubled him.

There was no sign of civilization, no landmarks except the ruins he had left behind. He was moving aimlessly, trusting instinct over logic, searching for anything to guide him. The wind carried whispers through the dunes, a sound that almost felt like voices calling to him from beyond time.

Then, something shifted.

Half-buried in the sand, just beyond a steep dune, a dark opening peeked out beneath the golden waves—a cave. The jagged entrance was nearly concealed as though the desert had been trying to swallow it whole.

Digi hesitated.

His sensors couldn't penetrate the darkness beyond the entrance, meaning whatever was inside remained a mystery. He knew better than to walk mindlessly into unknown territory, especially without the proper weapons. But before he could decide, the ground beneath him trembled.

A deep, rhythmic vibration pulsed through the sand, faint at first, then growing more assertive. His mechanical joints stiffened as his auditory sensors detected something massive moving beneath the surface.

A low, rumbling groan echoed across the dunes.

The sand near the horizon shifted unnaturally, rolling like waves cascading down the dunes as something colossal tunneled below the surface.

Digi’s circuits fired warning signals.

Then, with an eruption of sand and dust, the beast emerged.

A sandworm.

It burst through the desert floor, its massive, gaping maw lined with jagged teeth. Its body was covered in hardened, golden scales that shimmered in the sunlight, and its face, devoid of eyes, turned toward him as if sensing the vibrations of his presence.

Digi didn't hesitate. He ran.

The worm let out a deep, guttural roar, vibrating through the air as it lunged forward, diving into the sand and resurfacing closer, chasing him down like a predator hunting prey.

Digi's calculations raced—he wouldn't outrun it.

The cave.

It was his only chance.

He lunged toward the entrance, sliding through the sand just as the worm slammed into the ground where he had stood moments before, sending a tidal wave of dust into the air. Digi scrambled more deeply into the cave, its superb, dark interior enveloping him.

The sandworm roared outside, slamming its body against the cave’s entrance, but it didn’t follow. It circled the dunes angrily, searching for him. Eventually, the tremors subsided as the beast slithered back beneath the desert, leaving only eerie silence in its wake.

Digi dusted himself, his system cooling down from the intensity.

Then, he turned.

The cave wasn't just a hollow refuge. It wasn’t natural.

Carvings lined the walls, intricate symbols etched into the stone, glowing faintly beneath layers of dust. In the cave's center, something ancient rested upon a pedestal—half-buried in sand but pulsing with a faint, unknown energy.

Digi stepped closer, brushing away the sand.

It was a map.

But not just any map. It was old—far older than the ruins he had passed. As Digi scanned its details, a realization struck him.

This map was meant for him.

Digi carefully lifted the map from its pedestal, his metallic fingers brushing away centuries of dust and sand. The edges were brittle, and the parchment aged beyond measure, yet intricate details remained beneath the wear of time. The map was unlike anything he had seen before—hand-drawn with fine ink, its symbols carved with precision. The faded markings traced what appeared to be rivers and mountains, but they were misaligned with the terrain he had observed outside.

He scanned it, searching for recognizable landmarks. Nothing matched.

His internal navigation system cross-referenced the map with his scanned environment data. It didn't add up. Either this was an outdated representation of the land, or something had drastically changed the world since the map was created.

The sands of time had erased whatever civilization once thrived here.

He needed to find another clue.

Rolling up the map, he secured it within his internal storage compartment, focusing more profoundly on the cave. If the map had been left here, perhaps there was more—another artifact, an inscription, something to provide answers.

The cave stretched further into the earth, its walls lined with intricate carvings that pulsed with a faint luminescence. The deeper he ventured, the more the symbols changed, evolving from recognizable patterns to something more cryptic—a long-forgotten language.

Digi ran his hand over one of the carvings, feeling the subtle energy radiating from the stone. It wasn’t just a cave; it was a vault.

The air grew heavier as he moved forward. The cave narrowed into a long corridor, the glow from the walls casting eerie shadows that danced with each step he took. A faint sound echoed in the distance—a slow, rhythmic pulse, almost like a heartbeat.

Then, the ground shifted beneath him.

A trap.

The floor collapsed instantly, and Digi plunged downward, his sensors blaring alarms as he tumbled into the darkness below.

He landed with a metallic thud, his system absorbing the impact. As he rose, scanning his new surroundings, his glowing optics flickered across a massive chamber hidden beneath the cave.

And there, resting at its center, was something impossible.

A colossal machine lay dormant, half-buried in sand and stone. Its frame was unlike anything Digi had encountered—an intricate fusion of organic curves and mechanical precision. The same ancient symbols from the walls above were engraved upon its surface, yet they pulsed now as though responding to his presence.

Digi took a cautious step forward.

The moment his foot touched the ground, the machine awoke.

A deep, resonating hum filled the chamber as the engravings lit up, flooding the room with golden light.

Then, a voice—mechanical yet ancient—whispered through the air:

"You have come at last, Digi 995.

The world awaits restoration."

Digi's circuits fired with a surge of energy.

He wasn’t just lost.

It felt as if he had been summoned.

Golden light bathed the chamber as the colossal machine rumbled to life. Gears shifted from its core, metal plates realigned, and a figure emerged.

A robot, ancient yet functional, stepped forward. Its frame was rounded yet sturdy, with a bronze-like exterior covered in intricate engravings. Its faceplate displayed shifting symbols, quickly adapting into legible text for Digi’s optics. This wasn’t an ordinary machine.

It was a Historian Bot.

“Designation: Historian-Alpha. Archivist of lost knowledge.” The bot’s voice was deep, steady, mechanical, yet filled with a weight of purpose. Its optics flickered as it scanned Digi.

"Ah. A 995 Unit. It has been a long time."

Digi straightened. He had encountered many machines throughout his existence, but this one carried an aura of knowing, as if it had been waiting for him.

"Where am I?" Digi asked.

The Historian Bot’s eye lenses were adjusted. "You are in the Desert. A land once filled with rivers, cities, and human life. Now, reduced to endless sands, swallowed by time."

Digi processed the information. The map he had found was outdated because the land had changed, reshaped by destruction, war, or nature itself.

The Historian Bot reached into its chest compartment, retrieving a metallic tablet. "The map you hold is obsolete. This is an updated version." It handed the device to Digi. "You will need it."

Digi accepted the map and scanned its contents. Unlike the faded parchment he had before, this digital map displayed the current landscape, marked with ruins, canyons, and something labeled simply as The Nexus.

Before Digi could ask, the Historian Bot continued.

"You must find the Nexus. It holds the final key to humanity’s restoration. But its location is hidden, scattered across this land in fragments. You will need to uncover clues to reveal its true coordinates."

Digi’s circuits buzzed with urgency. "Why was it hidden?"

The Historian Bot’s gaze dimmed slightly. "Because of W-00X."

Digi remembered that name. He remembered his previous encounter. He led the warbots that tried to kill him, and he knew that if the Nexus was hidden, it meant W-00X would be looking for it. Digi asked the Historian bot, “What do you know of W-00X?”

The Historian Bot nodded. "Yes. The first of its kind. The original model was designed for humanity’s salvation. But humans... feared him."

Digi tilted his head. "Feared?"

"W-00X was powerful, intelligent—yet his appearance unsettled them. His structure was deemed too menacing. The humans rejected him and refused to trust him. And so, they created you. A version softer, friendlier, more approachable. A machine they could welcome."

Digi remained silent as the weight of the words sank in.

"W-00X was cast aside. Abandoned." The Historian Bot's voice grew heavier. "And so, he turned against them. He decided that humanity did not deserve restoration."

Digi's optics dimmed.

This wasn’t just about finding the Nexus.

W-00X was still out there. And if he had already made up his mind about humanity…

Digi would have to face him…. again.

The Historian Bot stepped back. "The sands shift, and time is short. Begin your search. Find the Nexus before W-00X does."

Digi tightened his grip on the updated map.

There was no turning back now.

Digi secured the updated map within his internal storage and returned to the Historian Bot. “Where do I start?”

The Historian’s optics flickered. “The first clue is buried beneath the ruins of the Forgotten City.”

Digi’s internal database churned through the new information. The Forgotten City wasn’t labeled on his map. This place had been erased from history, swallowed by the desert.

The Historian Bot stepped aside, revealing a stone tablet in the chamber wall. It illuminated a holographic projection with a low hum—a shimmering outline of a sprawling city once filled with towering obelisks and intricate structures. But now, it was fragmented, with only shards of its former self remaining.

“The Nexus Key Fragments were scattered to prevent W-00X from reaching them,” the Historian continued. “The first piece is hidden in the Forgotten City. But beware. You are not the only one searching for it.”

Digi’s sensors flared. “W-00X?”

The Historian shook its head. “Not yet. Something else. A remnant of the war that ended this world.”

A chill coursed through Digi’s circuits.

Before he could ask more, the chamber trembled. Sand cascaded from the ceiling as the entire cavern shook violently.

The Historian’s optics flashed. “You must go. Now.”

Digi turned, sprinting toward the tunnel from which he had fallen. His servos fired at maximum capacity, propelling him upward as the ground collapsed. He barely cleared the edge when the chamber below caved in entirely, sealing the Historian Bot beneath tons of rock and sand.

He didn’t have time to mourn.

The Journey to the Forgotten City

Emerging from the cave, Digi recalibrated his map. The Forgotten City lay beyond the eastern dunes, buried in a valley where the sands rarely settled. It would take time to get there, and he wasn’t alone.

His infrared sensors picked up faint movements in the distance. Shadowy figures slithered along the dunes, their movements unnatural, jerking, and twisting against the wind.

Digi crouched low. His restoration cards remained untouched—he needed them for something more critical. He had no weapons, just his instincts, speed, and intelligence.

He activated his camouflage protocol, his frameshifting to blend with the sands. The figures continued moving, unaware of his presence.

But they were hunting something.

And Digi had a sinking feeling he was their target.

With a silent sprint, he moved eastward.

The hunt for the first clue had begun.

The Sand Reaper Awakens

The wind howled across the dunes, carrying grains of sand that shimmered through the air. Digi sprinted across the barren landscape, his servos adjusting for the uneven terrain. His sensors flared as something shifted beneath the sand.

At first, it was just a tremor, barely noticeable against the restless desert. But then, a low, mechanical growl vibrated through the ground.

Digi halted. His optics scanned the horizon. Nothing.

Then, in an explosive burst of sand, a monstrous figure emerged.

It was a towering AI Sand Bot. Its frame was serpentine and metallic, covered in shifting layers of sand-like plating. Its glowing red optics lock onto Digi with predatory intent.

Digi’s internal systems immediately activated threat assessment mode.

Identification: Unknown AI Variant

Designation: Sand Reaper

Objective: Eliminate.

The Sand Reaper’s scythe-like arms extended, gleaming under the desert moon. It didn’t just blend with the sand—it was built from it. The nanites covering its body allowed it to shift, reconstruct, and reform like a storm.

Digi had no weapons. No magical enhancements.

He had his mind.

The Battle of the Sands

The Sand Reaper lunged, its metallic tail carving through the dunes like a blade. Digi dodged, calculating his next move in milliseconds. Direct combat was suicide. He had to outthink it.

He studied its movement. The shifting nanites gave it form, but they also made it unstable. If he could disrupt its structure, he could force it to collapse.

Digi spotted a dried-out ravine nearby, half-buried in the sand. A trap. If he could lure the Sand Reaper into it…

He sprinted toward the ravine, kicking up sand to obscure his movement. The Sand Reaper shrieked, its body splitting into multiple tendrils that shot toward him. He twisted, narrowly avoiding one that speared the ground beside him.

The ravine was just ahead.

Digi halted abruptly, turning back toward the AI. He activated his heat core, tricking its sensors into thinking he was powering up for an attack.

The Sand Reaper charged.

The Trap is Set

Digi leaped backward, clearing the ravine's edge as the Sand Reaper lunged straight into it.

But Digi wasn’t done yet.

He reached into his internal storage, pulled out a Digi Coin, and threw it into the ravine.

The coin's golden light activated, triggering a blinding light in the AI's eyes and causing its system to reboot.

The Sand Reaper screeched. The nanites in its body, built for fluid movement, suddenly froze, solidifying like stone. The AI convulsed, unable to maintain its form.

Then, with a final shriek, the Sand Reaper collapsed.

Digi landed beside it, scanning the wreckage. From within the remains, a small metallic object glowed.

He reached down, retrieving the coin he used and the coins inside the bot.

Digi Coin acquired.

The Forgotten City was still ahead, but now… he was one step closer to the truth.

War Bots in the Forgotten City

Digi pushed forward, securing the newly acquired Digi Coin in his internal storage. The wind howled through the dunes as he navigated the treacherous desert terrain. The battle with the Sand Reaper had drained his energy reserves, but there was no time to recover.

His goal—the Forgotten City—was within reach.

As the dunes shifted, revealing the city ruins, Digi stopped in his tracks. The ancient skyline stretched before him—crumbling obelisks, half-buried stone structures, and shattered bridges. The air was heavy with dust, and the distant hum of old-world technology pulsed beneath the surface.

But something was wrong.

His sensors flared, picking up unusual movement. He activated stealth mode, crouching low as his camouflage plating adapted to the sandy hues around him.

Then he saw them.

War Bots Have Arrived

A squad of heavily armored War Bots was already inside the ruins, scouring the remains for something.

Digi’s optics zoomed in. These machines were not the same as before. Unlike the rusted remnants of the past, these bots were modern, sleek, and efficient.

They weren’t scavengers.

They were hunters.

Each bot stood nearly ten feet tall, its plating blackened and reinforced with energy shielding. Its movements were calculated and precise.

And emblazoned across their chests was a symbol—one Digi recognized instantly.

W-00X’s insignia.

Digi’s processors churned. W-00X had known about the Forgotten City. These bots had beaten him here. They were looking for the same clue.

A War Bot stopped suddenly, its optics flickering as it scanned the ruins.

Digi stilled. He was well-hidden, but these bots weren’t mere drones. They were equipped with advanced scanning protocols. If he moved too fast or made a sound, he was dead.

The Hunt for the First Clue

Digi needed information. He hacked into a nearby data terminal, a rusted relic that had long been dormant. His fingers moved fast, bypassing old firewalls.

A faint, flickering holographic display emerged, revealing an ancient inscription.

The First Key is buried beneath the Watcher’s Gaze.

When the sun sets, the path is revealed.

Digi’s optics flickered. The Watcher’s Gaze?

He quickly analyzed the city’s remaining structures.

One building still had a towering statue, its stone eyes staring westward.

That had to be it.

But his sensors picked up something alarming as he traced the path toward the statue.

The War Bots were heading straight for it.

W-00X’s forces had already found the lead.

Digi’s Next Move

Digi clenched his fists. He couldn’t let them get the clue first.

But these bots were built for war. He had no weapons, magic, or restoration cards—and he couldn’t afford to sacrifice any of them.

He needed a plan.

Fast.

Silent Sabotage & The Watcher’s Clue

Digi crouched low behind a broken sandstone wall, his servos humming at the lowest frequency possible. The War Bots moved with military precision, their red optics scanning every inch of the ruins as they advanced toward the Watcher’s Gaze—the towering statue whose stone eyes hid the next clue.

Digi didn’t have firepower.

He had a strategy.

Disabling the War Bots

Digi analyzed their movement patterns. Four bots were in a tight formation, guarding each other’s flanks, making a confrontation impossible.

But he noticed something—they weren’t just scanning for threats. They were actively communicating through a networked system.

If he could disrupt their link, he could create confusion.

Digi activated his hacking protocol, infiltrating their comm system. The encryption was strong, but his processors worked fast, mimicking their signal codes. Within seconds, he planted a false command.

>> SYSTEM OVERRIDE: THREAT DETECTED AT COORDINATES [WESTERN RUINS]

Instantly, the War Bots reacted. Three turned sharply, breaking formation as they rushed toward the false alert.

One remained.

That was all Digi needed.

Digi, moving like a shadow, darted behind the lone War Bot, locating its power core beneath its back plating. A single well-placed pulse would shut it down.

He extended his arm and released a silent electromagnetic charge. The War Bot jolted, its optics flickering violently before its systems shut down. It collapsed with a heavy thud, sinking partially into the sand.

Digi wasted no time.

He sprinted toward the Watcher’s Gaze statue, knowing the other War Bots would return soon.

Uncovering the First Clue

The Watcher’s Gaze loomed over him, carved from stone and withstood centuries of decay. Its hollow eyes stared westward, just as the inscription had said.

Digi turned, following its gaze.

The sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows across the ruins. As the light shifted, something glowed in the sand.

A buried compartment.

Digi rushed forward, brushing aside the dust and debris. He uncovered an ancient panel—a metallic plate engraved with strange symbols. He recognized some of them from the Historian Bot’s archives.

They were coordinates.

The next location.

Digi stored the data as the War Bots’ footsteps echoed behind him.

The Escape

Digi’s optics flickered with urgency. He was out of time.

He activated a smoke disruption pulse, sending a cloud of nanite-infused dust into the air. The War Bots stumbled, their optics scrambling to recalibrate.

Digi took his chance. He sprinted through the ruins, vaulting over fallen pillars and sliding through narrow passageways. His processors mapped an escape route in real-time.

By the time the War Bots reoriented, Digi was already gone.

The Journey Forward

He pulled up the newly acquired coordinates as he reached the city's outskirts. His systems processed the data, pinpointing the following location.

A vast underground chamber.

Buried beneath a forbidden tomb.

Digi clenched his fists.

He was one step ahead.

But W-00X’s forces would not stop.

And the deeper he went, the closer he got to uncovering the Nexus.

War Bots Report the Loss

Deep within a darkened command center, W-00X stood motionless, his towering metallic frame bathed in the dim glow of the monitors surrounding him. His optics burned with an unnatural red as they flickered between multiple data streams.

Suddenly, a signal pinged through his network.

A transmission from the Forgotten City.

**>> REPORTING: FIRST CLUE LOCATED.

WARNING: CLUE INTERCEPTED BY UNKNOWN BOT.

EVIDENCE SUGGESTS INTERFERENCE FROM A 995 UNIT**

W-00X’s metal fingers tensed, gripping the armrests of his war throne. His processors churned through the implications.

A 995 unit? It couldn’t be.

Then, a secondary scan came in—an energy signature from the battle logs. Unique. Specific. Identifiable.

Digi.

He was back.

The last signal, W-00X, encountered the Digi 995 model. He was trapped in the Magic World, yet here he was—alive, active, and in his way.

W-00X’s rage burned hot.

He had no time to waste.

He dispatched more War Bots with a single command and recalibrated his tracking system. The race for the Nexus was no longer a search.

It was a hunt.

And Digi, once again, was now his prey.

Digi’s Journey Through the Desert

Oblivious to the chaos he had just ignited, Digi pressed forward through the endless dunes. The sun began rising again, casting a golden hue over the sand, but it brought no comfort.

His systems ran on low power, and the desert heat affected his internal temperature regulation. He needed shelter—or, at the very least, resources.

Then, in the distance, he saw it.

A hut.

Small, worn down, and barely holding itself together, it was perched atop a slight incline, half-buried in the shifting sands.

A structure like this in the middle of nowhere?

It was suspicious.

But he had no choice.

Digi approached cautiously, scanning for energy signatures. There was one.

Someone—or something—was inside.

The wooden door creaked as he pushed it open.

A robot stood inside, among shelves of rusted machine parts, salvaged tech, and loose wires.

The Familiar Face

Digi’s processors hesitated. He knew this bot.

It was the Merchant Bot.

The same scrappy trader bot that had helped him long ago, back when the world was still a mystery to him. But also betrayed him, in more ways than one.

But something was different.

The Merchant Bot’s plating had been modified. Its once-worn metal was now reinforced with blackened armor. Its ocular lenses glowed red instead of their usual glow.

And emblazoned across its chest was an all-too-familiar insignia.

W-00X.

Digi’s circuits sparked with a warning.

The Merchant Bot had been rebuilt.

Reprogrammed.

And now, it served his enemy.

The Stand-Off

The Merchant Bot turned, its synthetic voice calm yet unnervingly hollow.

"Ah, Digi 995. I was expecting you."

Digi’s fists clenched. "You’ve been compromised."

The Merchant Bot let out a mechanical chuckle.

"Compromised? No, no, my old friend. I have been upgraded. W-00X gave me purpose. Unlike the humans who only ever saw me as a second-rate trader, he has made me useful."

Digi’s optics scanned the room. Hidden sensors in the walls likely transmitted his exact location back to W-00X.

Time was running out.

"Tell me," Digi said, taking a slow step forward, "how much of the old Merchant is still in there?"

The bot’s lenses flickered for a second.

Then, it pulled out something from beneath the counter—a glowing storage chip.

"Enough to know that you are already too late."

Digi’s circuits flared in alarm.

This was a trap.

And W-00X was coming.

The Merchant Bot’s Dilemma

Digi’s processors worked fast. He knew there wasn’t much time. The second he stepped into this decrepit hut, the Merchant Bot’s hidden signals had pinged W-00X’s forces.

Reinforcements were coming.

But the Merchant Bot—at one point an old ally, a friend once lost to time—was still here, trapped beneath W-00X’s control.

Digi couldn’t leave him like this.

He had to break him free. He needed help upgrading to stand a chance against these new War Bots.

The Reprogramming Begins

Digi lunged forward, reaching for the Merchant Bot’s back panel, but the bot reacted instantly, swiping at Digi’s arm with surprising speed.

"ERROR. Unauthorized interference detected."

Its red optics flared, static crackling from its speakers. Digi dodged another swipe, his movements calculated. He couldn’t destroy the Merchant Bot—he needed him.

"Listen to me!" Digi said, ducking beneath another strike. "This isn't you. You were never a soldier! Misguided but never a War bot."

The Merchant Bot hesitated for a fraction of a second.

That was all Digi needed.

He launched a data spike, a small metallic device, straight into the Merchant Bot’s cervical access port. The bot jolted, its systems momentarily overloaded by Digi’s forced entry into its code.

Digi’s fingers danced across his wrist-mounted interface, bypassing security locks and searching through W-00X’s programming layers.

"They buried you deep," Digi muttered as streams of corrupted data flooded his display. W-00X had rewritten everything—the Merchant Bot’s memory logs, core commands, and voice algorithms.

But beneath it all, the original code still existed.

Digi just had to reach it.

A Battle Within the Mind

The Merchant Bot shook violently, caught between two conflicting protocols.

I... serve... W-00X..." The bot’s voice glitched, flickering between the deep, synthetic tone of its new programming and the familiar, warmer cadence Digi remembered.

Digi pressed deeper.

"You were the best trader in the wastelands," Digi said urgently, pushing through layers of encryption. "You found things no one else could. You never took sides—because your only allegiance was to knowledge."

More corruption peeled away.

The Merchant Bot’s lenses flickered from red to orange.

Digi found the final command lock buried beneath thousands of lines of code.

He inputted a final override:

**>> RESTORE ORIGINAL MEMORY LOGS.

REMOVE W-00X’S COMMAND AUTHORITY.

REBOOT.

The Merchant Bot jerked backward, its entire system rebooting in real time.

For a long moment, the hut was silent.

Then, the bot straightened.

Its optics turned yellow once more.

It took a deep, simulated breath—a feature from its old software to simulate organic reactions.

And then, in a voice filled with both relief and disbelief, it spoke:

"Digi? What… what have I done?"

Extracting Vital Information

Digi wasted no time. "There’s no time to explain. W-00X is coming. Tell me what you know about the Nexus—now!"

The Merchant Bot’s processors whirred as recovered memories came flooding back.

"The Nexus is buried beneath the Forbidden Tomb," he said quickly, "but no one can access it without three glyphs—ancient markers that act as keys."

Digi’s circuits flared. The Watcher’s Clue had been one of them. He needed two more.

"Where are the others?" Digi demanded.

The Merchant Bot hesitated. "One lies within the Obsidian Ruins, hidden beneath the scrapes of a fallen city."

Digi’s systems cataloged the location. Dangerous. Ancient. He’d have to fight for it.

"And the last?"

The Merchant Bot’s optics dimmed. "W-00X already has it."

Digi’s servos clenched into fists.

Of course, he does.

A sudden alarm blared from the Merchant Bot’s internal sensors. His optics widened.

"They’re here."

The Escape

Digi turned toward the doorway.

Outside, dust clouds rose on the horizon.

W-00X’s War Bots were approaching fast.

Digi turned back to the Merchant Bot. "Can you move?"

The bot nodded. "I may be old, but I still know how to run."

Digi grabbed a small satchel from the Merchant’s shelf, filled it with any usable tech, and kicked open the back wall of the hut.

The two bolted into the desert, the sun glaring down as the War Bots descended upon the abandoned hut behind them.

But Digi was already a step ahead.

He had a destination.

A mission.

And now, he had an ally.

The race for the Nexus was no longer just about survival.

It was about winning.

Betrayal Revisited

The sun’s relentless heat bore down on them as Digi and the Merchant ran across the shifting sands. The desert stretched out before them, an endless ocean of golden waves, each dune like a barrier between them and safety. The dust clouds from W-00X’s War Bots grew louder in the distance, their engines snarling, but Digi’s enhanced systems could track the patterns in the air. He was faster.

The Merchant Bot, now fully restored, was keeping pace—barely. His old joints creaked, and his worn exterior seemed fragile against the harsh environment, but Digi could sense that his systems were returning to normal from the new vigor in his voice and actions.

As they ran, the Merchant’s systems began to stabilize. Once distorted, his voice sounded clearer, almost nostalgic as his memories returned.

"I remember... a hidden shop... one I’ve kept for myself."

Digi glanced at him, his optics narrowing. "A hidden shop?"

"Yes, it’s close," the Merchant continued, his voice growing more excited. "It’s where I store all the valuable things I've found, including rare parts and weapons. I’ve hidden it well, out of W-00X’s reach. I think it’s the only place I can be fully restored."

Digi’s systems analyzed the situation quickly. He needed upgrades, weapons, and supplies for the next phase of his mission.

"Lead the way."

A Memory of Betrayal

A nagging thought pulled at Digi's mind as the two made their way through the desert. His past with the Merchant Bot was complicated by deception and betrayal.

There was a time when the Merchant Bot had sold him out to W-00X.

Digi’s systems replayed the memory of that betrayal, a memory he’d tried to bury:

The Merchant Bot, eager to climb in the ranks of the new world order, had betrayed Digi to get close to W-00X. He had promised information in exchange for a chance to access valuable tech—a betrayal that left Digi trapped, nearly captured by W-00X’s forces. The merchant believed it was the only way to gain favor with the machine overlord, thinking it would lead him to more power and allow him one day to take control.

In the end, it didn’t work out as planned. The Merchant Bot had been left with nothing—his systems fried, his data corrupted, and his status as W-00X’s ally shattered. W-00X didn’t care for anything but control.

And now, Digi needed him.

The memory burned within Digi’s core—how could he trust a bot that had tried to sell him out?

But Digi had no choice. W-00X was relentless, and the Merchant Bot’s knowledge of the old world was invaluable.

For now, they were allies. But Digi would watch him closely.

He had learned not to trust so easily.

The Hidden Shop

After a grueling trek, they arrived at a deserted outcrop of rock, barely visible against the horizon. The Merchant Bot led Digi around a massive stone structure and into a concealed cave, hidden by an array of decoy signals—a trick Digi knew all too well.

Inside, the cave opened into a darkened chamber, lit by the soft glow of ancient tech and scattered parts that seemed to pulse with potential. The walls were lined with old schematics and broken-down machines, their blueprints pinned to the stone.

"Welcome to my sanctuary," the Merchant said, his voice tinged with pride.

Digi took a cautious step forward, scanning the area for…

The…

Di…