The sound of a machine whirring echoed out as a faint

blue glow began to emit from a diamond in the chassis
of a hunched over figure. A humanoid creation slowly stood
up. Turning its screen facedown, it looked at its hands as the
diamond grew brighter. Its wrists and neck began to dimly glow,
the robot watching as its hands detached from its arms and
hovered a slight distance away from the ends of its wrists. The
robot slowly opened and closed the four fingers on each of its
floating hands as memories began to flow through its circuits.
His name was R-X Diamond; he was designed to be a
companion and aide to the famous, brilliant, and dashing scientist
who had created him. At least, that’s what his programming
told him. However, he couldn’t remember much of anything
else. R-X continued to study his body carefully. He felt a thick,
metal rod where his waist was supposed to be, connecting his
torso to his pelvis. Sharp shoulder blades reached out from
the upper ends of his arms. His body was mostly spotless, save
for some areas covered in small scratches. The area where his
neck should have been was more of an indent, an opening that
seemed like a plug for his head. The neck area began to emit a
blue glow as well, and R-X’s boxy head disconnected from his
body, hovering a couple of inches above the rest of his chassis.
During the examination of his body, a faint beeping behind him
caught his attention. Turning his head a full one hundred and
eighty degrees, R-X faced the source of the noise. Shortly after,
his body followed.
A cracked computer terminal lay beeping against the wall,
and R-X realized he was in a laboratory. As he walked to it,
he saw the room was in shambles. Shattered glass covered the
floor, chunks of concrete had fallen from the walls and ceiling,
and some areas even had moss and vines growing on them.
Broken machines and smashed computers littered the area.
R-X wondered what had happened to him, his creator, and this
facility.
His head was the first to arrive at the flashing screen of the
computer terminal, his body catching up a moment after. R-X
blinked his eyes, studying it carefully. A single word appeared:
“Hello.” Hesitantly, R-X reached down and pressed the enter
button.

“I’m not sure who may be reading this, but congratulations
on surviving! Statistically speaking, I’m probably already dead
if anybody is seeing this message. Ever since that solar storm,
everything has gone to, quite literally, Hell. Unfortunately, the
last hope I tried to leave behind didn’t even end up working. His
name was R-X Diamond. I pooled everything I had left into R-X,
yet I don’t know what went wrong. Maybe someday, somebody
can get him up and working. I thank you.”

Dr. Milo Sharp
March 29, 2088

R-X stared at the message in disbelief, realizing this was left
by his creator. The message disappeared as the computer closed
out to its main screen, multiple icons scattered around it. The
background picture of the desktop showed an older man in a
lab coat with his elbows deep in an inactivated R-X’s chassis. A
number of other robots surrounded the pair, all smiling. In the
corner of the screen, R-X saw the current date that was posted:
03/21/2138. For almost a full fifty years, he had been broken and
alone. Judging by the message and the time frame, he figured
Dr. Sharp was probably dead by now. However, it was the other
robots who piqued his interest. Maybe they could tell R-X more
about what had happened. R-X carefully adjusted his head to be
level with the screen before his eyes disappeared and his entire
face flashed, taking a picture. Could they still be alive? His eyes
slowly began to reappear on his screen, the image being forever
saved in his memory.
R-X pulled himself away from the terminal, searching
around the rest of the lab. He ran his fingers across the walls,
feeling every crack he came across with some vines running
through his digits. It wasn’t that this place just seemed abandoned,
but he thought that something else had to have occurred here,
given the current conditions around him. As R-X neared the
corner of the lab, a blinking machine that stood at twice his
size caught his attention. Besides the computer terminal, this
seemed to be the only other working piece of technology. Well,
if he didn’t count himself. The machine had a wide opening,
as if something was supposed to go inside it, with a clear base
that revealed dangerous looking parts underneath. On the side
next to the opening, a series of colorful buttons and a lever were
present, although R-X decided it’d probably be best to not mess
with it.
Moving on from the machine, he continued his exploration
of the lab. A counter that ran against the wall was scattered with
tools and papers, and the few stools that were present all had
their seats torn and decolored, resembling a dirty brown from
what R-X guessed was originally a nice tan. He sifted through
the papers on the counter, hoping to find anything useful. If
R-X had a nose, he would’ve most definitely had to sneeze from
the cloud of dust he just kicked up. Fanning it away as best he
could, he took his time looking through the papers. While there
was slight fading on most of them, it didn’t make any of them
unreadable. A recipe for chocolate chip cookies, a flyer for some
yo-yo championship, and a shopping list of only milk, eggs, and
cheese. While the yo-yo one did actually sound fun, none of it
helped R-X in the moment. He wasn’t sure what he was hoping
to find, but maybe some sort of instruction manual could help.
R-X spun his head around fully, observing the rest of the
room as he followed the counter by touch. He was nearing
the only entrance in the entire lab, a steel door with a keypad
next to it. R-X quickly realigned himself and made his way to
it, frantically pressing at the buttons. His head drooped as the
keypad failed to even make a beeping noise. R-X shook his
head and looked up, there was no way he’d give up that easily.
If he was created in this facility, he might have some idea of
what to do in his programming. Closing his eyes, R-X tried to
recall more about himself. Energy raced throughout his wiring
as he searched his memory. R-X Diamond. Dr. Sharp. Boring
science stuff. Ugh, he knew all that already. He tried focusing
even more, thinking about his current situation. His face
disappeared on his screen as a full map of the facility popped up.
Now he was getting somewhere! On each door of the map, four
numbers were present, which R-X assumed was the code for the
corresponding door. Even though this door didn’t seem to have
any power, getting the code was a good start. R-X ran his hand
across the sealed door. There was a line running horizontally in
the middle of it, which made him think that each half retracted
upwards and downwards. If he could find some way to power
the lock, he could get out of here. While it’s true he wasn’t a
scientist like his creator, he was still created to be able to help
him. If he couldn’t figure out something as simple as this, he
didn’t think he’d deserve to be Dr. Sharp’s companion.
Just as R-X began to brainstorm, an abrupt banging shook
him out of it. R-X backed up as the banging became louder and
more frantic. From the sound of it, it seemed to be coming from
down the hallway. According to the map in his head, the lab R-X
was residing in was relatively close to the entrance of the facility.
An ear-shattering clank of the door breaking down was followed
by heavy footsteps nearing the lab. More banging rang out, this
time directly against the lab door as dents began forming in it.
Backing up into the corner of the room, R-X, shakily hid his
face. While the prospect of somebody freeing him was hopeful,
the way everything was happening didn’t sit right with him.
Soon enough, both halves of the door gave way and
clattered to the ground as a hooded figure stepped into the
room. A majority of its body was covered in a black shroud with
deep violet highlights, while its arms were covered in black,
spiked gauntlets and its legs in similar looking greaves. Where
its face should have been was just a foggy emptiness. The figure
seemed to be covered in multiple wounds, each wound leaking a
dark mist. Almost as soon as the figure entered, its faceless gaze
locked onto the shivering robot hiding in the corner. Turning its
course, the shrouded being bolted directly for R-X, leaping over
the desk in the center of the room. It aggressively pulled R-X
to his feet, holding him out in front of it. Raising its gauntlet,
the being hovered its claws over the diamond in R-X’s chassis.
Outside the corridor, R-X heard more footsteps barreling toward
them.
A second figure rounded the corner and entered the room,
covered head to toe in medieval armor. R-X couldn’t be sure if
they just had a bulky set of armor, or if they were a beast of a
human with their stature. The armored figure had a helmet with
a T-shaped visor, along with a blue cross painted along and above
it. Dirty, white fur stained with something blue surrounded the
bottom of the helmet and the upper chest, connected to a dark
blue cape around the figure’s back. A faded, golden medallion
was holding the cape together at their neck. Thick, metal plates
were plastered across their chest, held together by a different
black metal. The knight’s arms and legs were also completely
covered in a similar manner. In their right hand, R-X noticed a
very heavy-looking great sword, dark blue mist dripping from
the edge, evaporating as it hit the ground.
A cold, eerie voice came out from the hood behind R-X.
“Stay right where you are, Albert. You wouldn’t want somebody
else getting hurt because of you, now would you?”
The knight seemingly known as Albert stopped in his
tracks. R-X assumed he was contemplating how to go about the
situation. Silence filled the room before the hooded one began
to slowly move around the outer edges, all the while keeping a
firm grip on R-X.
“You’re too soft. That’s always been your problem!”
Albert glared at the duo. R-X, too frightened to act, could
do nothing but comply with the one who had taken him hostage.
A low grumble was coming from Albert’s helmet, as well as
what seemed to be a spark of crimson from his visor. As the
pair were slowly inching along the wall, R-X noticed a level of
mist beginning to form along the ground. It seemed as if Albert
noticed it too. However he showed no signs of action, which R-X
was very grateful for. Only a few feet remained between R-X and
Albert, the knight glaring at the shrouded figure behind R-X.
The mist had grown quite a bit now, and the hooded figure let
out a chuckle.
“Well, I’ll be seeing you, Albert. Next time you won’t get off
the hook so easily. I promise you that.”
With that, R-X was thrown at Albert, causing them to
topple together onto the ground. Albert’s sword crashed with
a loud clang. The mist in the room swirled up, binding the pair
against the floor as the hooded one sprinted out the door and
down the hall. R-X struggled as the fog thickened against him.
How the heck was a gas becoming tangible? R-X tried flailing
about to no avail. Turning his head, he watched as Albert
fought against the misty tendrils, grabbing at them with his
gauntlets. As he clenched them firmly and tightened his grip,
the mist binds evaporated around him. R-X clunkily continued
his struggle against the mist, Albert ignoring him as he rushed
toward the door. R-X attempted to break free as he had watched
the knight do, but he had made it look much easier than it was.
Even with his hands detached from his wrists, he was having
difficulties. No matter how hard he grabbed the tendrils around
him, they wouldn’t evaporate. The knight let out a grumble as he
turned back around and knelt by the entangled robot. Grasping
at the mist tendrils, Albert ripped upward as a swoosh followed,
freeing R-X.
Albert strode over to his sword, picking it up and hoisting
it over his shoulder as he looked down at R-X. He grabbed the
robot’s arm and single-handedly raised him from the ground.
R-X had to tilt his head upward ever so slightly to stare at the
taller figure. He assumed the knight would say something, but
no words left his mouth. The strange silence was starting to get
a bit uncomfortable. He decided he should probably speak up
first.
“Thank you for not letting that man hurt me, sir.” His voice
was a bit shaky as the words left him.
“No need to thank me. It would have been my fault if
something had happened to you.”
The knight’s voice echoed out from under the helmet, gruff
yet strangely comforting. He looked up and down at the robot,
then turned his gaze to the rest of the room.
“What’re you doing in this destroyed laboratory? That door
was sealed shut tightly. How did you get in?”
“Well...I’m not exactly sure what I’m doing here. I just woke
up in this room. I was activated only today, you see, so I’m very
unsure of...pretty much everything right now. In a message
left by my creator, he mentioned something happening to this
world. What did he mean by that, sir...Albert, was it?”
Albert looked around once more before turning around.
Heading toward the doorway, he motioned for R-X to follow
him out. The lab hallway was no better than the room, flora and
vegetation overtaking most of the cracked metal and concrete.
Albert walked forward without stopping to look if R-X was
following him.
“Well, might I be the first to wish you a happy birthday
then, robot.”
R-X perked up a bit. “Oh, why thank you! And, uh, my
name is R-X Diamond, Mr. Albert.”
The knight was striding through the narrow hallway,
brushing against foliage as he went. R-X had to slightly jog to
keep up, his head bobbing above his body as he did.
“You missed a hell of a lot, robot. Impressive how you’re
somehow still up and running. The solar storm didn’t fry
your circuits and you’re not rusted to the Earth’s elements. I’m
surprised the lab hadn’t been looted or scavenged yet, either.”
“What...what do you mean? What’s happened? I’m afraid I
don’t understand anything right now, Mr. Albert.”
R-X bumped right into Albert’s back as he abruptly stopped
in his path. Tipping backward, the robot caught his balance as
he quietly looked at the knight.
“It’s getting late. This lab will make a decent resting point
for the night. Robot, help me search this facility. There has to be
some useful things around here.”
R-X’s head drooped down slightly. Maybe if he helped
Albert, he’d give him more information about everything going
on.
“This way, Mr. Albert. I have the layout of this facility
preprogrammed into me.”

 Albert rested his sword against the wall as he squatted down

upon a couch. R-X Diamond sat on the ground and leaned his
back against the counter, watching the knight force open a
can of meat. He had helped Albert locate the emergency food
supply as well as this small room. R-X had contemplated leaving
alone, but decided it wasn’t a smart idea. He was scared of the
uncertainty and of what had just happened to him. He reasoned
it was safest for him to be with this knight for the time being.
On the ground, R-X crossed his legs and propped his head up
in his hands, thinking to himself. Albert was the one who broke
the silence this time.
“It all started with what people took to calling a hyper solar
storm. I don’t know all the astronomical details of what exactly
happened, but that’s what kicked off the end of the world. It
wouldn’t have been that bad though, if that’s all it was. Smaller
scale ones have happened in the past, but they were never as
bad as this. Imagine a giant wave of energy engulfing the planet,
a geomagnetic storm. It acted as a global EMP, knocking out
pretty much all forms of energy and electricity. That wasn’t the
worst part of it, though. Some of the solar flares were strong
enough to launch literal balls of fire into our atmosphere... It
was bad, but it was manageable at least.”
Albert lifted the visor of his helmet slightly, but not
enough to see his face. R-X watched as he tilted the can back,
the contents dumping into his mouth. As Albert chewed, R-X’s
mind reflected upon what he had heard. He didn’t know much,
but all the knowledge programmed inside his mind could never
think of an event like that. Albert threw the can to the side and
reached for a second one on the counter.
“After that happened, well, leave it to mankind to do the
rest. The world was in chaos. Wars broke out among countries
between not only others, but their own people. Areas of Earth
had become scorched and barren thanks to the raining space
debris. You can imagine the aftermath. Fear and anger. Humans
were all scared and desperate, a very dangerous combination.
And then that’s when those bastards showed up to take advantage
of the current situation.”
Albert scraped the lid off a can of beans, scoffing down the
contents within. R-X scooched himself closer to the knight.
“Who did, Mr. Albert?”
Letting out a sigh, the knight crushed the can in his hand
as he tossed it to the side of the room. He reached for a can of
carrots then fiddled with it.
“Well, you just had a friendly encounter with one of them.
That fella that got away? He wasn’t a human nor a robot. His
name was Abaddon, a demon, and a Lord of Hell at that.”
Albert forced the lid of the can open with his gauntlet,
plucking the cut-up carrots out one by one and tossing them in
his mouth. R-X tilted his head as a question mark formed on his
screen face. A demon? R-X had been programmed with a basic
understanding of most known human knowledge, but what was
Albert talking about? Mythology? Legends? The knight finished
his third can and threw it with the rest, closing his visor as he
leaned back.
“Yup. You heard me right, robot. Demons came to attempt
to control the chaos and hatred festering in the shattered world.
Thankfully, if humans are anything, they’re determined to
survive. The remaining forces of the world were able to unite
after years, shoving the demons back enough. Not completely,
but enough. They’re still a very prominent threat, don’t get me
wrong, but they don’t roam the world freely in massive armies
anymore.”
“Lords of Hell? Demons? What are you even talking about?”
The robot felt a tinge in his diamond core as dread washed
over him. What he had experienced with that mist definitely
wasn’t normal, and he remembered the message his creator left—
“everything has gone to, quite literally, Hell.” R-X shuddered as
he stared up at Albert.
“Think what you will, robot. I have no reason to lie.”
R-X kept his gaze upon the knight, examining him further.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt off about this
man, too. If the forces of Hell are as devastating as he made
them sound, how was Albert able to go head-to-head against a
so-called Lord of Hell?
“We set out in the morning. You should rest yourself while
you can. Who knows how long you can stay active after being
dormant for so long.”
“Wait, Mr. Albert, I still have so many more questions! Like
what are these demons exactly? Where are we going?”
Albert settled down onto the couch. It creaked slightly
under the full weight of his body and armor.
“We’re going to a place called Valwall, I’ve got a friend who
owes me a favor. She’ll take you in once we get to her. From
there you can determine your own course of action. I can’t leave
you to die out here, but you certainly can’t travel with me. You’ll
be crushed into a pile of scrap metal. I’ll protect you for now,
though, so you don’t have to worry.”
R-X wasn’t fully sure what to think about everything, but
Albert at least seemed trustworthy for now. Without any other
idea of what to do, R-X figured he’d go along with the plan. If
Albert kept his promise of protecting him, he didn’t think he’d
ever want to leave his side.
“We set out in the morning. Now it’s time for rest. Do you
understand, robot?”
R-X nodded, staring at the floor as he did. “Mr. Albert?”
“What is it?”
“Are you a human?”
“Yes. I’m resting now, Diamond.”
“Yes, sir.”
R-X hovered his head above his chassis, plugging it into his
neck as he let himself lean against the wall and started powering
down his core for the night. He felt so many emotions, but mostly
nervousness. While he had so much preprogrammed knowledge
about the world, if what Albert was saying was actually true,
none of that would help him now. At the very least, R-X thought
about how he was lucky to even be alive. For whatever reason,
his core didn’t activate him until today, but that didn’t change
the fact it might have never activated and he might never be
alive. He knew he would have to stay positive. As the light blue
glow of his diamond dimmed, R-X let himself relax.