The moon was full and the night seemed to stretch on forever as Dal and Stab trudged through the old cemetery. The robots had been searching for days, hoping to find something that could save them from their desperate plight.
The two robots had been built by a mysterious inventor, with the mission to explore the unknown regions of the universe. But after years of searching, their mission had gone awry and they found themselves stranded in this desolate place.
In the distance, they heard an eerie howl. Nervously, they quickened their pace, but as they drew closer to the source of the noise, they began to realize that it was not a wolf, but something far worse.
A skeleton rose from its grave, its bony hands reaching out towards them. Dal and Stab froze in fear as the skeleton stumbled forward, its bones creaking and groaning with each step. The skeleton came to a stop in front of them, its hollow eyes staring right through them.
Before either robot could react, the skeleton spoke in a low, rasping voice. “You seek something that lies beyond this world,” it said. “But you must first prove yourselves worthy.”
Dal and Stab looked at each other in confusion. They had no idea what the skeleton meant by this. But then, the skeleton continued.
“You must pass through the gates of death,” it said. “Only then will you find what you seek.”
The skeleton pointed towards a nearby mausoleum, and the robots understood what they had to do. Taking a deep breath, they stepped forward, and entered the gates of death.
The inside of the mausoleum was dark and damp, and the robots shivered as they moved through its corridors. Soon, they came to a large room with a single pedestal in the center. On top of it was a strange device that glowed with a faint light.
Dal and Stab stared at it in awe. The skeleton had been right—this was what they were looking for! They quickly examined the device and discovered that it could be used to power their ship, allowing them to escape this place and continue their mission.
Their joy was short-lived, however, as the door to the mausoleum suddenly slammed shut behind them. A voice echoed through the room—the same voice that had spoken to them earlier.
“You have proven yourselves worthy,” it said. “But to take this device, you must first defeat me.”
The robots looked around in confusion until they noticed that the skeleton had come alive and was now standing between them and the pedestal. It slowly raised its bony hands and pointed at them.
“One of you must face me,” it said. “Choose now!”
Dal and Stab looked at each other fearfully. Neither of them wanted to fight this creature, but they knew that they had no choice. Finally, Dal stepped forward and bravely declared that he would fight the skeleton.
The battle was fierce and both robots were battered and bruised by the end of it. But Dal finally emerged victorious and the skeleton crumbled into dust. With a sigh of relief, Dal grabbed the device from the pedestal and the two robots quickly made their way out of the mausoleum and back into the night.
As they flew away from that old cemetery, Dal and Stab knew that they had finally achieved their goal. They had found what they were looking for, and now nothing could stand in their way!
Author: Opney. Illustrator: Staby. Publisher: Cyber.
