Mall Fight

Viktor was feeling nervous, but he had to defend himself no matter what in this situation. He had seen what IRIS was capable of once, and knew enough it had no mercy to spare.

"So, been some time since we met, IRIS?"

IRIS didn't reply, but lowered its chin, as though to observe him more better.

"I will tell you this," he said with an attempted air of bravado, though he gave it away slightly because of his high pitched voice. "I won't fight if you won't fight."

Still, IRIS didn't move a muscle. A moment passed where the air felt as still as cement, with IRIS glaring at Viktor and Viktor, in return, nervously glaring back.

Then IRIS zoomed through the air so fast he didn't see it coming. It kicked him around his middle, making him double up, and what more with those thick strong boots. A thin chord snaked around his neck, nearly choking him, and next, he was being thrown head first into a wall, which he felt crack under the force. 

The pain half blinding him, he tried to open his eyes, but they snapped open nevertheless when IRIS suddenly appeared an inch from his face, holding its yoyo's rope against his bare neck. But what shocked him most was that IRIS spoke.

"Give back the pen drive." IRIS said coldly.

"I don't have it," he grunted, all because of the pain coursing through his body. He felt like he could hardly stand up. All he need is just a miracle, just for once...

IRIS looked him up and down, as if it could see through his suit. A few seconds later it seemed to have come to the conclusion that he didn't have it.

"Where is it?" it asked once more, its voice biting like ice into his skin.

"Why do you want to know?" he said nervously. He wasn't especially in a good position to fight now, not when he could barely even move his arms when IRIS could even detect a hair standing up. 

The most miraculous and ridiculous thing was that IRIS set him free. However, it looked like it didn't do it for no reason.

It flew straight right to the exit of the rink, and Viktor knew why. It was going to try to chase Dos. It left Viktor, on the other hand, shaking in shock. Was that his best friend? Was he supposed to go and help Dos? But she should've gotten away now; he didn't let himself get cornered by IRIS for nothing. At the same time, he wouldn't know if he didn't check. So after gathering up the little courage and energy he still had in him, he tapped his shoe on the floor on the front and back and felt the bottom of it become smoother, it was like he was on roller skates. Then he skated off.

Where would IRIS possibly be? Sunway was a large shopping mall after all. Yet he didn't need to wait long to know. People were swarming excitedly towards a clearing, standing on tip-toes to watch something he couldn't see. 

Viktor squeezed himself between the smallest gaps between people without apologising as he pushed past a group of girls, who screamed in his wake. But people insulting him was nothing compared to the boulder of worry in his stomach now. He didn't who he was worrying about: Ali or Dos?

Upon reaching the front, Viktor saw that IRIS did managed to catch up with Dos. Without the slightest trace of mercy on its face, it was attacking Dos with what it seemed every attack it knew. Dos was screaming at the top of her lungs as she was flung up and down and here and there. This wasn't helping the situation at all: in fact, it was making it worse. People looked around for the source of commotion and, upon spotting IRIS and Dos, whipped their phone out of their pockets and started pointing it in their direction.

Viktor shoved on his signal-jammer sunglasses, accidentally poking his eye in the process. 

"Go away!" he shouted at a cluster of teenage girls nearest the fighting.

They didn't even seem to have heard. They just stared at Viktor and shrugged.

He raised his eyebrows. He activated his metal claws and the bunch of them instantly ran for their lives, thinking he was about to attack them.

He continued playfully slashing about until the people surrounding them got away, but it wasn't until the Robopols arrived, all armed with lasers guns pointing at him. A shatter of breaking china sounded above him and he chanced a glance above to see that IRIS had threw Dos all the way through the glass dome and smashed her back down. A blast of cold wind followed by a shower of glass and rain drenched him from head to toe.

"Are you serious?" he cursed through his wet hair.

As Viktor was so busy taking care of about ten robots at once, his feet making great splattering noises as he danced in and out, he didn't realise that Alicia had entered the scene. She didn't want to be caught, anyways. 

Alicia peeked out from around a tall pillar, well outside the area of water downpour, though the floor here was soaking wet. IRIS and Dos were locked in a very intense fight, and there was a high chance she would get hurt too if she just randomly stumble into it. Viktor was still busy, and judging from his speed, he would only finish with all the robots in about three minutes. Well, Alicia hoped that three minutes will be enough to get Ali back to safety, and not to mention the stolen pen drive.

After several seconds of furious thinking, she had a plan. She took a yellow bomb from her waist and threw right into the waterlogged clearing. The effect was instant. Viktor, IRIS and even the robots paused, trying to find where the source of the smoke was coming from. Alicia pelted out from her hiding spot at once, knowing there was little time when the smoke would disappear amidst the rain. She flung her arm out and hooked IRIS around the neck, sending both of them crashing to the wet marble floor. 

"Dos! Where are you?" Alicia heard Viktor cough through the thick and wet air. Alicia kept a firm grip on IRIS' throat as cold water seeped through her suit: hoping to make it temporarily lose enough oxygen to deactivate. But she had forgotten one crucial point: IRIS could hack into machines. 

A strong metallic hand had grabbed her right arm. Another one seized her left one. Why hadn't she seen this coming? She struggled against their powerful grips, but knew she had no chance against them. IRIS easily came onto his feet, and stared down at her as if she was some kind of dirt found on the sole of his shoe. Alicia knew what was coming as it flew up above the ground and threw its yoyo at her. 

A flash of silver. 

The yoyo was deflect back at IRIS, who intelligently grabbed the yoyo's string to make it fly further backwards, barely missing him. A click sounded and the air shook. 

Alicia was beyond confused. She tried to find another way to release herself from these robots, but before she could even move a muscle, Viktor had come running her way and slashed the robots into shreds. Alicia fell to the floor with a thud, tears sparkling in her eyes. 

Not wanting to be embarrassed, she quickly mopped them away. However, when she looked up, she was most surprised to see Viktor offering a hand to her, his expression most concerned despite half of it being hidden behind his splattered sunglasses.

"Are you OK?" he asked. 

Alicia slapped his hand away, and Viktor, she saw, was most taken aback. She didn't knew what made her do that. There was so much going on she was having difficulty taking it all in. She didn't even know what to scold him about. 

"I'll just...go..." came Viktor's disappointed voice, and she heard his splashing footsteps moving away.

Viktor was hoisting Dos' badly beaten up body on his shoulder and stumbling away. She very much wanted to stop them, but she was drained of energy, and Viktor had just saved her life...

Though she still felt like something was still missing...

"Ali!"

Alicia ran over to the unconscious body of Ali's, lying amongst the broken parts of Robopols and glass which were strewn everywhere. Alicia bent down to check on him. After checking on his heartbeat and for injuries, she concluded that Ali was just tired. Not that she isn't, anyways. She had also removed a dart which, she suspect, was shot him by Viktor to knock him unconscious. At that moment, a white cat came around the corner and immediately sprinted towards Alicia, though trying its best not to step into water.

At last it approached its master, its eyes wide with worry. Alicia quietly passed Comot IRIS, which it took between its teeth.

Then suddenly, they could hear scrambling of a thousand feet swarming the hallways beyond, sounding most like the thick rain pounding against the ceiling above them.

"Quick, Comot. We have to go." Alicia told the cat grimly.

Alicia hastily hoisted Ali onto her shoulder, like how Viktor did with Dos, and ran flat out to the closest exit.