Continuing the saga as promised.

"Who is this guy?" I asked pointing at the cab driver. Quinn, The Toasty Ninja and Hum and I had wandered a few blocks down the street before the cab had parked right in front of us and the driver waved one of his arms at us, the other was in a caste.
"Oh, yeah that guy. We helped him... sort of. I tried to fix his arm." Quinn shrugged. "He uh... fell down a flight of stairs... than he fell up a flight of stairs I guess. Yeah... I don't know his name."
"Okay, so is he giving us a ride to our next destination?" I asked walking toward the car. The people I knew who could forge the papers we needed weren't exactly in town.
"I guess so. We had asked him if he'd be able to help us out for the favor. And he said, 'what favor" But I guess he's cool after all."
So we all jumped in the cab... although we had a robot that weighed something like 230 pounds this didn't seem to impede the cabs ability to travel.
We visited Rupert's Classy Protections Agency, were we gathered paper work in the parallel earth we knew barely anything about. And before we left we had to learn more. Which is why we had one last place to stop.
"Remember that secret underground facility?" I asked my allies during the trip back to the town.
"You mean the Catacombs, the one under the church, the one we flooded, ruining many cadavers and corpses. Not to mention damaging the structural integrity of the cathedral above."
"no, not that place." I said, shaking my head. I had to make many apologize to the architect and the cardinal.
Hum, buzzed and beeped attempting to make a suggestion.
"No, no, not the pump room were we found you... and the other robot. The murderous robot, who killed Aust... and Lardaz saved him by stabbing him. Stabbing him to life." I followed my statement with a sigh of nostalgia.
"What about the underground labyrinth, the one with the mathematician, the massive library were the voices of darkness chanted... taunted and tempted your souls and the backwards speaking scarecrow on the ceiling. Oh and than there was the old man who played checkers... or chess or whatever. And they were all insane." The toasty Ninja suggested.
"uh... you weren't even there for any of that... we found you wandering in an abandoned subway. Also it wasn't that dreadful place either." I looked at him oddly.
"Oh yes, I know. But I was told all about it. It was a very interesting story. Oh wait, what about the subway... and the portal to the dimension with the magic that strangled and the blades... you know the ones, that flew and killed you. I was there for that part."
"No! Not that place either. This was a place we had learned about but never visited. It had to do with a machine that had all the answers. Don't you people remember?"
""I wasn't there for that part." Stated the Ninja. Than he went back to adjusting his top hat.
"I don't remember hearing about that." Quinn said, and Hum just shook his head implying that he didn't know of the place either.
"Well we don't have much time. Cabbie, take us to the middle of no where!" I announced.

So the cab driver suddenly turn the wheel to the right and drove the taxi onto a road that was never there. Driving through the underbrush and the hedges towards a destination we only speculated could have ever existed.
Soon the cab was temporarily lodged in the high branches of a tree, whether or not the leaves of this tree had the capability to make one high we never found out, because the cab didn't stay there for long. It crashed to the crashed to the ground, the only person who looked injured was Cabbie, but he looked injured before.
"Hey buddy, you look as if you might need some fixing up!" Quinn said as he searched his back pack for a amputation device that had miraculously failed to impale any of the passengers.
As memories of the last time this doctor had tried to help him flooded his mind, as he slipped into a flashback his reaction was compulsive, "My spine doesn't bend that way!" He shouted, realizing what he said he popped back into the present. "Uh, no thanks." Than he and most of the group wandered ahead.
"What did you do to that poor fellow." I questioned Quinn.
"I was just trying to help. But in the way that's kind of like... 'your hurting me, please for the love of god stop helping.', yeah, I'm not a real doctor." And it was true, he was a terrible doctor. Also I suspected rape was involved, even though it wasn't. But I still lolled.

We hiked through the hills. And found ourselves on a path that seemed to lead to the right direction. But who are we trying to fool, we have no idea what that even means. forests and wilderness is stupid and we hate camping. We just hoped that we'd be able to... oh wait there it is. wow, we actually managed to stumble on the right place... and who the hell is that mysterious stranger.
"Cab driver, you stay here, but keep the meter running, we'll be back in a moment." I informed the cab driver, he gave me a weird look and than wander over to a tree and sat under it. "Don't give me that look! This is a job for heroes not silly cab drivers!"
The man approached, the only adjective we could use to describe him with was mysterious. But that doesn't really help because in this world everything is mysterious. I mean this is like fuckin' Lost guys! I could throw a polar bear in here somewhere and people would be like, 'what the fuck is up with the polar bear!' but it would only add to the mystery.
"I see you're all looking well.." the man said as he tipped his hat.
"I don't approve of your hat." Quinn stated.
"It is kind of strange." I added, noting that it had a rim and bells tied to string that hung from this rim. It was all very mysterious.
Before he left he turned and congratulated us on a job well done, "Clive you and your little friends here, they're all doing well. And I approve of the work you're doing. Keep it up. But whatever you do... don't mock the hat again. Or you WILL regret it." than he was gone...
"That guys weird." said Quinn, his religion and his pride insulted.
"He is neither good nor evil, like the chess player who plays checkers... with chess pieces" I said as I continued into the building that was carved into a mountain. but than I stopped held my hand out to signal an immediate halt. "It's a trap!" I pointed at a sign that said exactly that.
"wow, you really saved us there admiral." The Toasty Ninja stated, I was proud but I couldn't help but wonder... ever since I had come back from the dead I had been noticing that sometimes when people give praise it sounded differently. Was this a new thing... or had it been there all along, like many other things that I had noticed, like the "trap". What is sarcasm? I asked my self. The party had moved ahead and I came back from my thoughts. and caught up with them.
The only room in this installation there was a massive computer. The Profit 600, built by Compaq.
"Hello visitors." It announced in it's electronic voice.
"Hello new friend!" Toasty stated. I pushed him aside and took charge of the situation, as I often do.
"We want to know why the fuck we came here." I stated.
"You came here looking for answers, you will leave here with important information concerning the one man who can destroy the machine you seek." I hate that monotone electric voice, but I hated it even more when the games began. "Everyone gets one free question... now, we play! It is an animal, a person to be exact. You get twenty questions, the answer t the questions must be yes or no."
We played his game and learned that we were looking for a man that was born in a nearby town, he wasn't famous, or well known. He held no power, and as for as I could tell he had very little when it cam to material wealth.
"Well that was useless." I growled with frustration. We were all very discouraged, what were we doing with our lives! Chasing dreams, running in circles, questioning authority and our own existence, our own will to exist. It's like our entire lives where some sick and twisted game. We pondered over these thoughts, okay I shouldn't speak for everyone... but I pondered over these thoughts as we left the glorified cave.
"Take us back to town cabbie!" one of us demanded. The man looked at us and sighed. "Pick up the pace you useless swine!" The ninja demanded... although it might have been a joke. Actually it definitely was a joke in the grand scheme of things. "Wait!" He realized, "You're the guy!" It took us all a moment but than it dawned on us all.
"My Gods it's true, you are the guy!" I announced at this epiphany. Hum nodded in agreement.
"Well that was easy, he was right here under our noses all the time and we hadn't even noticed." Quinn laughed.
"What are you people talking about? And which mental hospital did you people escape from?" We ignored his questions and began walking aimlessly.
"You must come on our quest through time and space." I explained.
"Yes, our mindless, insane quest, it will be so much fun!" The Toasty Ninja added. "You really must join us. than he adjusted his monocle and top hat once again... for the last time that day I do believe. He was a very British ninja.
"Fuck that." The cabbie stated. "that could get me killed."
"We will pay you a lot of money about 400 dollars, you see we are unbelievably rich."
"We stole from corpses, and libraries and fortresses and..." The toasty ninja continued. "I had a friend who was half bird and half person. He was like the head of a criminal organization and..." we usually ignore that kind of Toasty Ninja banter, "But he's dead now. Or is he? Dun dun DUN!!!"
"Okay, I will join you, just pay me half now." We did, he actually didn't run away which surprised everyone but myself, what can I say I'm a very trusting person.
"like that time you trusted that telepath not to force us to commit suicide." Quinn replied.
"Firstly, just because the griffin is a wild beast/Canadian does not excuse him from killing innocent people, secondly there was no proof that that illusionists and mind manipulator had forced any of those people to commit suicide, and finally you do not respond to my internal dialogue this story is far too complicated as is! And you unlike that unnamed villain, aren't able to read minds so this is entirely uncalled for!" With that over with we found our way to the cab.
"Looks like you wont be carrying us across the rift after all, Mr. Cabbie." Quinn announced... I don't believe he was joking either, he literally expected this 5.8 140 pound man to carry four beings, one of them being a robot that weighed like 280 pounds. And the man was in a caste!
So we traveled to a future where the confederation ruled. And robots were slaves... because they're cheaper to operate I guess. Which brings us to the robotic rebellion... no wait that's a bit later. First there's customs.
After that load of boring we found ourselves in a small industrial town. This is in confederate territory. I got my allies, Quinn, The Ninja and the robot. And we are not fitting in very well with the locals. They view us as a bunch of carpet baggers from up north. And we view them as a bunch of ignorant hicks... so there is a bit of animosity. But it is a war and we are disguised as mercenaries. I guess we're protecting them from Russian Zombies or something.

"We need to find someplace to stay. Than we need... oh look they're deprogramming those robots. Let's observe, but whatever you do don't get involved." I said as we entered the center of town. Before us was a crowd and in the center there was the sheriff. And he was speaking about how robots become evil and eat people and have to be deactivated.
I stepped forward and said to him, "Are you sure that these robots are truly dangerous." They looked like they were built by the same intergalactic corporation that builds all robots, one that is managed in Hosstem Norway, a completely neutral party. Obviously not to be trusted.
The problem with Hosstem Robots is they have souls, which is great. Except most people don't believe machine's can have souls, even in the confederate south, which... let's face it, is ridiculous. I mean the south is one thing, but than we have this place.
All these thoughts I kept to myself, because saying them out loud would have been stupid. And I wasn't in the mood to get shot today.
"Why's it you think you have a right to say anything about our practices outlander!" He stated with a slight drawl.
"Oh nothing. I was just wondering." I said.
"Ah yes, a clean thinker, I like that." He said with a smile. We were getting along just famously before The Toasty Ninja stepped in.
"Unhand those robots!" He announced. I looked at this soon to be toast ninja with... what might have been surprise, but also realization that it was only a matter of time that he was going to get us all killed.
"I don't like you." Said the sheriff as he turned his head towards the ninja, and his hand moved towards a sawed off shotgun he had hosteled to his back.
"On second thought you can keep those robots the way they are." The ninja began to back pedal.
"Who do you think you are." The Ninja was a master of disguise and we all had pseudo names and pseudonyms, "My name is Simon. And I am not a ninja, but a commoner, and a mercenary."
"Are you ready to die?" The sheriff asked.
"No." The Toast replied.
"Than get out of my sight before I make that happen." And so that was are first run in with the law this side or the rift. And if you hadn't noticed it didn't go over well. Because ninjas are not good at making friends... no matter how lonely and needy they truly are.
Wechecked into a hotel, on with a massive five room pad, it was awesome... and they even had a butler... or at least that's what we were lead to believe at first.
"Okay, Hum, you're in charge of the robot rebellion, Toasty Ninja you get to do all the sneaking and espionage, Quinn you're my side kick and I'm going to keep being awesome. Any questions?"
"Would you like any tea?" The butler asked. We all jumped.
"Is it poisoned?" Quinn asked.
"You heard all our plans... do we have to kill you?" The ninja asked.
"Who are you?"
"It is not poisoned, you do not have to kill me and I am the best damn butler to ever exist. Anymore questions?"
"Can we sneak into the sheriff's building and replace all his inkwells with water, or like... pee on his furniture?" the ninja asked.
"You could, but he would not be pleased." The Butler stated. "But if you wanted to the best time would be at eight in the morning, he leaves to stop at his favorite cafe for coffee, than it's off to meet up with Madam Leone. He'd spend perhaps an hour, maybe an hour and a half being entertained"
"who takes that long to be... entertained?" asked Quinn.
"Depends on how many games he plays." The butler stated.than he left to return with tea. We didn't want to get into details about the sheriff's activities. The butler gave us information on the factory thet built components for the machine that powered the inter-galactic time space portals that aloud the confederacy toe expand it's empire across worlds, but not much about the robot's dissidence.

"We're wasting time. I said, Toasty, you and I will sneak into Sheriff Tightwad's home office and find what we can on robot's and there rebellion, Hum, you try to follow any leads you think might help. And finally Quinn..." he wasn't in the vicinity. "Did he go to sleep already?"
"Looked a bit tired." The Ninja stated, "He had the sleepy time tea I do believe."
"Whatever, it's almost two in the morning, we have a big day ahead of us and we need to be well rested. " I was anxious, I don't know how to fire a gun.