Eternal War
The skies were painted an odd reddish color. The whole planet seemed to be actually. Towns and cities had been left in ruins, rotting and decaying for centuries. The smell of death had long sinced passed. All that remained now... well, there was nothing left to smell whatever smell this dead world carried. After all, the robots had no olfactory senses. This was the result of the last war. A war that started 1000's of years ago. But now nothing remained of the civilizations that had started this war. Nothing except the machines. Ruthless, efficient, killing machines. Built to last, built to completely destroy the enemy. The problem was that both sides had developed these weapons. Both sides had suffered the consequences. Both sides had lost. But the war was not over. The machines carried on the legacy of their dead masters. This was their program. The robots knew nothing else but this, their one goal. And so, the people of a time long passed created an eternal war.
The machine walked silently down the street. It surveyed all its surroundings through several glassy protuberances, jutting out of what would be the head of an ordinary person. Each one gave it information in a different spectrum. One of these spectrums would show him where the enemy was, whether it was behind a solid wall 500 feet away, or standing directly behind him. Right now it did not register anything. Thus, the robot was caught quite off guard when another robot launched itself off of the roof of a store down the block, debris flying through the air behind it. It landed on the ground and chunks of gravel rocketed out forming a small crater. This robot, who shone brightly in the hazy red light, was a newer model, developed to thwart the sensors of its enemies. The older model, of the opposing side, collected data on this machine and sent it to a nearby factory, so that the problem could be corrected and the sensors would be replaced. The new model's thrusters lit up on its back and it slowly levitated a foot above the shattered road. It immediately shot towards the other robot, machine guns blasting away. The older machine raised several arm-like appendages to cover the more delicate parts of its 'head' and braced itself for the impact. The flying robot slammed into the standing robot and they both flew, limbs flailing, through the air. The newer model rocketed to safety while the older one shattered a storefront window, which proclaimed that there would be a sale on shoes, 50% off, this coming weekend. The older robot ignited its own thrusters before impact with the ground and flew majestically towards, and through, the ceiling of the shoe store. It rose 30 feet into the air its scanners flying about wildly in search of its attacker. There, 100 feet away, it also flew through the air. Both machines spotted each other, raised there weapons and fired. Sparks flew out of the barrels of their guns and each machine swooped up and down rapidly to avoid the other's fire. They sped toward each other, guns blazing. Right before impact, the older model swooped upwards, in an attempt to surprise its enemy. But the other robot had seen this, as well as over 1,000,000,000 other possible moves that the robot might've decided to make, and had prepared for them all. It too swooped upwards and a robotic fist flew towards the older model. The older robot had also seen this probability and had a countermove already set up. It raised its mechanical forearm and stopped the blow, then quickly threw a punch of its own. But, of course, the other robot had seen this coming as well and was able to block and return a blow to the other robot. And so they flew upwards into the air, exchanging, but never actually landing, punches to each other. Finally the older model raised two of its appendages up above its body and slammed them into its opponent's head. The robot careened downward, its data already processing and sending its failure so that new models would not suffer from the same attack. It violently slammed into yet another street. Buildings shook and debris flew through windows and walls, most of which were already plenty destroyed from previous robot-battles. Its momentum carried him further down the road creating a tiny canyon in the ground. The machine finally stopped and righted itself. Its thrusters were damaged so flight was no longer an option. It cradled a gun-arm and ran quickly down the street, its spring-loaded feet kicking up huge pieces of asphalt. This robot's sensors would still be a great advantage in this battle. The airborne robot flew above searching for its prey unaware that its prey had already spotted him. The spring-loaded legs launched the other robot into the air so fast that the flying robot had no time to counter it in any way. The robot grabbed onto the floating robot, stuck a machine gun into a delicate portion of its armor and fired away. Sparks flew out of the robots, which flew towards the ground. They slammed through a tall brick building which shattered like glass upon their impact. The older robot slid on the ground and into a wall. Sparks flew from many of his joints and he was noticeably weaker. The newer model's powerful legs sent him flying towards the disabled robot once again and they crashed through one wall after another until they were once again outside. They once again flew to the ground but the weak robot managed to activate its thrusters mere inches above the road. It used them to flip over so that the new robot was now below him. He scraped the new robot's back against the gravel and sparks flew outward from its now dented body. The older robot used yet another appendage and lowered its machine gun to the others 'face'. It fired and yet more sparks spat from the robot. Caught off guard, this robot released its grip on the other and clanged against the hard ground where it skidded a few feet. The flying robot arced through the air, its trajectory the grounded robot below. The robot on the ground slowly righted itself then raised a large gun towards the machine flying swiftly towards him. A bright beam shot out of the robot, draining power from its already ailing systems. The beam flashed towards the flying robot, which was going to fast to correct its course. The robot was engulfed in a fiery explosion but continued its flight. The grounded robot shot off another beam, aware that at this point escape was impossible. The flying robot once again exploded. This robot was now completely disabled. But its momentum carried itself still towards the other machine on the ground. Then it hit. The whole city block was engulfed in this explosion. Pieces of metal, gravel and rock flew all over. This was, of course, the end. The end for these two robots at least. But already each side's factories had received new information and new models were being created to combat the other new models. This information was coupled with information from countless battles similar to this one raging elsewhere throughout the planet. These new models marched out of the factories, and flew off into the skies, in search of the enemy. And so, the eternal war continued.