Smuggling

[Madotsuki]

Now Madotsuki was starting to wonder how right this kidnapper was in the head; sure, they couldn't be all there if they thought that they could take Madeline captive and get away with it, but... how were they going to find her in this lousy excuse for a town? She had notified the guy that she had arrived a few minutes ago, and the response hadn't been all that helpful.

"Where are you exactly?"

"On the top of a giant pile of junk."

"Can you be more specific?"

"I LITERALLY CANNOT GET MORE SPECIFIC THAN THAT!"

With a sigh, she closed the MDD and waited for a reply. Several minutes passed before she caught a glimpse of something off in the distance flying towards her-- a difficult feat, considering how dark this place was. The dreamer glanced away, trying to pretend she didn't notice. Flicking the MDD back on, she awaited the inevitable message.

"Take a left and head that way until you reach a giant crane, then head right and continue until you reach a warehouse. It'll be right outside the door."

That sounded easy enough. Following the directions, she set off.

Now, the journey itself hadn't been all that eventful-- it took her about 10 minutes of ambling until she reached her destination. However, there was the fact that something should've happened several times over that didn't actually occur, and she found it unsettling. On occasion, she'd glance around to find large groups of robots readying weapons. She had prepared to fight every time this happened, but they did not engage. From the way they backed away into the darkness, with a hateful glint in their eyes, they weren't afraid of her. They clearly wanted to attack her with their saws and hammers and whatever else they wielded, but for one reason or another, didn't do so.

What made it worse was that they weren't actually looking at her, a fact she realized the third and last time she had encountered them. Instead, they were staring off to the side and above her, approximately where she thought the drone was. Even though she had the feeling that they wouldn't hesitate to fight her if the camera didn't happen to be with her, it didn't ease her mind. If anything, it only raised more questions.

She eventually arrived at the pickup point. It was a factory, much like the one she helped take over, except there was no sound to be heard, save for the shambling of metal feet. Robots had also gathered around the area, and they all turned to stare in her general direction as she drew nearer. Engines began to stir and weapons were withdrawn, including her own. The Night Terror crouched as she continued to close the distance, not wanting to provoke the animatronics should they decide to ignore the drone.

Now that she was close, she saw that a briefcase lay in front of the door, watched over by a bot designed like one of those wrestlers one would find on television. She stopped a few inches away from it and bowed stiffly in greeting. The robot didn't respond. She gestured towards the package, asking for permission to take it. Still no response.

Bending over, she reached for the suitcase and froze as the guard seized up. After a moment of nothing happening, she pulled it away and rushed into the darkness. They did not follow.

Once she felt she had reached a safe spot, she stopped to catch her breath. Her MDD buzzed, and she checked it.

"Great job. Now you need to get to Tier 3."