He Has Risen, Pinball that is!

I gripped THOOP tight, feeling the weight of it settle in my hands. Colby was already grinning like an idiot, practically bouncing on his heels. "Alright," I said, leveling the weapon at Pinball’s newly reinforced chassis. "Let's see what you can handle."

The bolt cracked through the air, a jagged arc of raw power striking him square in the center.

BOOM.

Pinball rocketed backward like a cannonball, crashing into the far wall with a thud that rattled the entire room. Sparks danced along his frame, crackling in bursts of blue-white light. The air smelled sharp—ozone and burning dust.

For a second, everything was still.

Then—

Prring ping ping Pong POP!

Pinball’s eye flickered back to life, his onyx shell gleaming, his gyros spinning fast. He was unharmed. No, more than that—he was energized. The electricity didn’t just hit him; it flowed through him, feeding him, making him faster, sharper, stronger.

He shot forward, rebounding off the ceiling, then the floor, then the walls—his movement so precise, so mechanical, it was like the world itself had become his pinball table. Each impact sent him blipping and blooping in a perfect rhythm, his voice ringing out between each calculated bounce.

"POWER SURGE DETECTED! SYSTEMS AT PEAK OPERATIONAL LEVELS! BIG CHIEF, I AM—" BLAM! He ricocheted off a metal crate.
"—EXPERIENCING—" WHAM! He skidded across the floor.
"—UNMATCHED EFFICIENCY!"

Colby doubled over laughing. "Dude’s war-ready, and he sounds like an arcade game!"

I just watched, arms crossed, shaking my head in awe. We hadn’t just repaired him—we’d made him something new.

Pinball finally steadied himself, hovering midair, his white eye burning bright. "DIAGNOSTICS COMPLETE. ALL SYSTEMS OPTIMAL."

I couldn’t help but smile. "Damn right they are."

Colby, still catching his breath, held up THOOP. "Alright, so he absorbs electricity now. We could probably wire a charging station into him—hell, maybe even use him as a power source in emergencies."

I considered it. "Yeah… but first, let’s see what else he can do."

Pinball revved his turbines, tilting slightly forward, and I swear—I swear—he was smiling.

Because this wasn’t the end.

This was just the beginning.