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Morgunov clicked his tongue, and the robot in front of him crouched down, allowing two others to climb on top of it.

Then something else happened that Asad could hardly believe.

The three machines unfolded themselves in countless different ways, clanking and scraping against one another, until they reformed and became one, much larger robot.

Now it was the size of a van--and very bulbous looking, besides. Its "head" was still domed and bearing blinking "eyes," just like all the other robots, but its body was so much larger. And judging from the way the other robots appeared to function, there was no telling what kind of mechanical tricks it might be concealing within its black-and-gray frame.

Its giant chest cavity opened up, and Morgunov tossed Miles inside. The chamber slid shut with a shunk, and the Mad Demon smiled again, waving the robot off. It responded by rocketing away from the ground and soaring into the night sky.

Then Morgunov turned to Asad. "Enjoying the show?" he said, motioning to more of the robots. "Sorry, you probably shouldn't be here for the good part. For your own safety, you understand. Wouldn't want some emotional teenager to accidentally kill ya! You know how they can be, I'm sure."

The machine that was holding him crouched down, too, and two more robots piled on. Just like the ones from before, they unfolded and began merging into a single machine--only this time, they did it while maintaining their grip on Asad. The inner chamber of the robot quickly formed all around him, until all light disappeared, and he was sealed inside.

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Morgunov tingled with excitement as he watched the Robert Mk. III launching away with Asad Najir and Qorvass inside it. Not only were the packages secure, but things were finally about to kick off for the first time in a long time.

A long, long time.