[B]Post-Slam
17 months later
Sicily, Etna National Park
Castello Cartel Hideout
05.03. 9:59PM[/B]

In spite of the few traps and ambushes along the rest of the way, Nox reached the hidden villa of the Castello Cartel in minutes.
"[I]Well, that was surprisingly easy.[/I]" Noted Kainé.
"[I]Don't let your guard down, knowing them this must be definitely a trap![/I]"
"[I]Ah, you're right.[/I]"
"[I]Kainé, look![/I]" Ignis said and pointed to a huge cage hanging in the air.
It was like a primitive lockup holding many dozens of people.
The whole structure was suspended via a crane.
"[I]Wow, pretty cliche set-up, don't you think?[/I]" Kainé quickly remarked.
"[I]I checked it and they must be the captives we're looking for.[/I]" Ignis stated. Aside from taking down Castello the duo was also tasked to rescue all the captives held at Castello. They're people from various cities kidnapped by the Mafioso's men to do forced labor.
"[I]You sure? I think they were supposed to be held in Castello's secret underground complexes. Why bring them here? It's like they're deliberately making our work easier.[/I]"
"[I]Or they could be setting up a trap.[/I]" Ignis added.
"[I]Yeah, or they could be setting up a trap. I like traps, you know? It's like Christmas presents. You never know what they hold until you open them. Makes you feel excited, doesn't it?[/I]" Kainé said while slowly approached the cage.
"[I]Hey, Kainé! What are you doing!?[/I]" Alerted by Kainé's rash action Ignis tried to stop him.
[I]"Savin' the hostages, of course. What else?[/I]" But it didn't work, Kainé already something in his mind.
"[I]But...[/I]"
"[I]Don't worry, I think we can handle this. I believe in both you and the power of Nox.[/I]" Kainé reassured him and continued to move on.
"[I]Don't just act without thinking! This is reckless!"[/I]
"[I]So it's like Tuesday, huh?[/I]" Not even stopping for a second Nox continued to walk towards the hostages. Ignis had to give up.
The cage was large, enough to easily hold 50 people in it. Yet that was still small enough for Nox to carry.
"[I]Anything new, Ignis?[/I]" Asked Kainé. This weirdly empty atmosphere started to annoy him, as well.
"[I]...None. I can't pick up any signals. This place looks completely abandoned.[/I]" Ignis reported. Nox's sensors might be severely impaired compared to it optimum but there's no way they'd miss anything at such a close range.
"[I]Eeh!? They ran away already? Man, talk about a bad day. And I just thought we finally picked up on a lead, too...[/I]" Naturally Kainé felt disappointed. Perhaps he shouldn't have bothered with the business of others and went with the original plan instead.
"[I]Oh well, it cannot be helped. I carry the civilians to safety then we return and investigate this place in detail, okay?[/I]" Said Kainé as rescuing the hostages became his new priority. Nox pulled the cage overhead and was ready to perform a big leap, when...
"[I]Kainé, wait! Transmetalite reaction detected! Directly overhea-[/I]"
BOOOM!
In that instant sinister red light covered all the surroundings, ending in a terrible blast of unearthly power.
Tremors swept through the area as the explosion nearly collapsed the Etna as its side effect.
Black dust and smoke filled everything, obscuring visibility.
Yet in the midst of darkness Nox still stood, intact.
"[I]Emergency barrier system activated, structural damage: None.[/I]" Ignis reported calmly. Thanks to her foresight Nox just had enough charge to use the automatic barrier defense once, saving them both.
But she couldn't relax yet as her attention was focusing on something else.
"[I]Phew, I saw lotsa red in the fireworks!... Nice job, Ignis! So? What was it? Did some asshole plant a bomb on the cage? Heh, typical as always...[/I]" 
"[I]It wasn't a bomb![/I]" Ignis corrected him immediately. She was unusually nervous.
"[I]Eeh!? What do you mean? It blew up, didn't it?[/I]" Kainé didn't get what was going on.
"[I]No, that was only the excess energy resulting from multiple uncontrolled mass-shifting sequences at once.[/I]" Ignis told.
"[I]Wait! You can't mean that...[/I]" For a moment Kainé went pale.
"[I]Transmetalite reactions confirmed, detected 52 sources, probability of Omega-Lambda variant is 100%.[/I]"
"[I]!!![/I]" Suddenly all muscles in Kainé's body stiffened and his face contorted in anger. He immediately had a rough idea on the situation.
"[I]Excuse me Kainé, I couldn't spot them any sooner.[/I]"
"[I]No problem, Ignis. You did it just in time. Are they...[/I]"
"[I]Yes, detailed search confirmed all 52 sources as Hellbots. This also correlates with the number of capti-[/I]"
"[I]I've got it already![/I]" Kainé interrupted her angrily. Yes, he knew this. No need to explain it. He had failed. He was too late. Dammit!!!
Hellbots, nightmarish machines of living steel imbued with infernal energies. They're created from living human sacrifices and the trademark of a certain madman Kainé wishes to had forever stayed six feet under.
[B]"ZOMBIO!!!!!"[/B] Kainé howled the name of his loathed enemy. Dr. Ernst Zombio was a mad scientist of the lowest kind, the kind of man whose views Kainé denied with all his power. He was rotten to the core...literally. 
Apparently he was resurrected from the dead by an unknown benefactor and became an immortal zombie. Since that point Zombio was supposed to work for a strange cult but as far as Kainé could tell the madman only (un)lived for himself.
"[I]Wilkommen, Herr Fableschmitt![/I]" Yeah, he also had a cliche mustache-twirling German villain accent. Wait! where did that voice come from?
"[I]Entschuldigen Sie mich. Considering our previous sechsundzwanzigste treffe I took all the required precautions today.[/I]" Resounded the voice from the speakers of the nearby Hellbots. Learning from the previous encounter Zombio was only observing the battle from afar through the Hellbots' senses.
"[I]Heh, suit yourself. After I'm done here I gonna track your ass down and kill you again![/I]" Kainé boldly declared, this time completely serious to go through with it. Since the damn monster is incapable of dying Kainé already thought of means to torture Zombio and to make his life worse than any death. He very much deserved it!
"[I]Ku-kuh-huh-huh-hah-HAHAHAHA-![/I]" Zombio's first response was just his annoying laughter.
"[I]Oh, you've been always such a Komiker, Herr FableSchmitt. Done here? Coming after me? No, Herr Fableschmitt, you are going to die here! Kuh-hah-HAHAHAHAHA![/I]" Zombio declared with his usual mad confidence.
"[I]Heh. Look who's joking here? Didn't I just kicked the butt of your ultimate creation on the other day? Do you expect to take me with a bunch of cannon fodder? Your rotten brain must've also grown senile, you zombie trash![/I]" Indeed, the Magius Mechanicus Nox would never submit to something as trivial as numerical superiority! Kainé felt ready to destroy Zombio's creations for the 27th time.
"[I]Your insults are like melody to my ears, Herr Fableschmitt. Indeed, Schwartzenrasier did fall to your abominable giant. But the cost was great, doesn't it? Reactor output on 50%, muscle package tension on 40%, firepower is down to 10%. Just as I thought your so-called Nox is only a shadow of its usually fearsome power. In any other day you may had a chance against my newest creations. But today? You're going to die here! Just as I planned![/I]" Zombio kept gloating with that ugly rotten mouth of his. Still.
"[I]Kainé, he has a point. We're in no shape to fight a major battle here. The mission was a failure. We have nothing to do. Let's retreat and wait for the next chance to co-[/I]"
"[I]That won't do. You know me, Ignis. I can't back out from a fight.[/I]"
"[I]But-[/I]"
"[I]Besides, there's no way I'm going to allow these monsters to rampage free. Castello and his handful of mechs caused enough trouble for the country. I can't imagine what'd happen if we allow 52 Hellbots to roam unabated here. I trust in your skills and Nox's power. So it's your turn to trust in my ability[/I]!"
*sigh* "[I]Alright. Then I should do my absolute best to assist you.[/I]" Ignis responded with feigned exasperation but actually she was in full spirits.
"[I]Of course[/I]!" Kainé responded while pumping all his anger to fuel his fighting spirit. That's right, he had to kick Zombio's ass like he had always done. No ifs or buts. Whatever condition Nox was in, he must win.
Nox moved, crossed its twin Magnums while assuming a stance.
"[I]So... you actually intend to fight!? Stop being ridiculous! According to my calculations the ratio of power exceeds one to a hundred. Your actions lack any logic whatsoever! That's why I'd never able to tolerate you! Anyways, your times of annoying interference end now![/I]" Zombio declared, frustrated by the stupid perseverance of his hated nemesis. 
"[I]Calculations? Logic? Stop kidding yourself! It's about time for me to show you that Nox is above all these![/I]" Kainé declared as Nox immediately lunged into action.