Javy's little sandbox

This was surely it. The wonderful life they could’ve lived, about to end in a mere instant as the fiery wolf pounces at the defenseless family, now even closer than earlier.

Until the beast was split in half by the sudden dash of a black trail.

Speeding through the road that leads to the raided camp, the demonic rider turns her vehicle around as it slides across the street up to a violent stop, the two halves of the hound launched to both of its sides.

Wearing a black leather jacket marked with the sigil of an Oni upon its back, Youko makes her appearance at last.

With a leg on the bike’s seat, the horned-helmeted woman launches herself towards the family who stare in awe at their apparent savior as the Maelstrom beasts growl at this new enemy that stands before them.

Announced by a roar, one of the wolves attempts to pounce and attack, only to be interrupted by Youko as she slams her palm upon the ground.

An ominous purple glow appears beneath, and in an instant, the mark of an otherworldly glyph manifests itself underneath the beast, who is immediately blasted away by a pillar of raging dark energy, the powers of a demon.

Sure enough, a power capable of defeating Stromlings, obvious from the black smoke left behind by the destroyed hound.

Standing between the civilians and the beasts attempting to circle her, the black haired biker clenches her fists as a flickering flame soon bursts into a shadowy aura surrounding her figure.

Revealed from this fiery display and a sound akin to a faint screech, a new silhouette appears behind Youko, floating above her shoulders. A translucent figure of wisp-like flames, invisible legs made up by muscular arms and a robust build, as well as the pair of horns atop a head covered in long, pale hair.

The family behind them stare at this exhibit in awe, and – despite the somewhat terrifying nature of this power – they could feel oddly protected by their dark savior.

Before long, the dissipating smoke reveals the figure born of Youko’s own energy, the figure of a ghostly Oni warrior.

The figure of Yudai, Youko’s own brother.

And so, the fight continues.

Running towards the woman with a flaming growl, one of the Maelstrom’s Hounds attempts to attack Youko with its powerful bite only to be stopped by the attack of Yudai’s fist.

Quick as a bullet and with the strength of a hundred soldiers, the Oni unleashed a downward fist with enough force to shatter the ground underneath as the wolf crashed against it. Still whole, the spectral warrior picked the creature from its back legs and slammed it against its rushing companion.

With such an attack, the two beasts turned into black smoke, destroyed.

But before the shadowed cloud had even dissipated, another bare-fanged wolf pierced through the mist, only to meet the fist of the Oni, who reacted nearly instantaneously.

A flurry of punches flew towards the creature, dozens upon dozens of strikes thrown in such a quick succession as they repeatedly hit the beast with power akin to a barrage of bullets. With a final hit, the hound burst into black energy as its body fiercely launched across the street.

A few brief moments of quiet pass, it seems there’s no more danger for now.

The spectral Oni Yudai slowly disappeared into nothingness, as easily as he was summoned. Only Youko remains standing on the street.

Looking behind from over her shoulder, the biker sees the family, backs against the wall. Frightened, but safe…

“Thank you so much,“ the Merlopian mother muttered, her son holding tightly onto her.

It’s weird… this feeling. Eyes wandering back and forth for a couple seconds, all Youko could do is give them a nod of acknowledgement.

Running away to safety, Youko fixes her eyes on the family until she can no longer see them in the distance, ensuring they make it out safely. Whatever feeling she may be having, that is what matters the most.

But the fight is not over yet.

During this time, the Arsonist Hound she ran over with her motorcycle – although split in half – was not truly destroyed. The parts of the Stromling had slowly managed to meet back together, regenerate over time.

In complete silence, the healed wolf stood behind the Oni woman as the flames across its body smouldered once again. But she’s no fool, she already noticed the stalker at her back as her fists clenched tightly, ready to battle once again.

With a roar, the monster made its move, all while Youko as well turned around to land an attack of her own.

But the sudden ghostly chain that pierced the beast interrupted the moment.

Violently pulled away from the scene, the wolf wrapped in chains went flying straight towards the cross-shaped slice of dual blades from a spectral assassin. An attack more than enough to finish off the creature for good.

As the blademaster’s silhouette disappeared in a brief flash of teal light, in her stead stood the lean figure of a hooded person. Evident from the hue of their eyes, they were the one that summoned the ghostly apparitions of the chain-wielding warden, as well as the assassin.

“Guess you had it covered already,” they muttered with a few steps forward, examining the remnants of the fight that took place. “You alright?”

Left with her fist hanging, Youko turned to face this new figure, hand now resting on her hip. A brief nod is all she gave.

That’s a relief to hear, the hooded one thought. But before they could respond with a smile, they could notice it. Within the woman, two different sparks of light stood close together. Very similar, yet noticeably distinct from each other.

“You have two souls,” the summoner muttered with visible shock.

Alarmed, a wide eyed Youko turned to them immediately, taking a small step back.

Indeed, the spark of light that represented her soul turned on a yellowish tone, a state of alert.

“Never mind that,” they attempted to dismiss the matter with a gesture of their hand. “You Nexus Force too?”

Glancing away for a moment, despite being taken off guard, Youko knows there’s more important matters at hand. She simply confirms the question with a slow movement of her head.

“Khazri,” the Elemental Master of Souls nodded, introducing themself. “I’m with the Force too.”

With various movements with her right hand, Youko spells her name through signs. Interestingly, they did not react with confusion or shock, rather, quiet understanding.

“Pleasure to meet you, Youko,” Khazri smiled with a gentle nod.

Despite that… initial observation, it’s always nice to find people that understand her signs. Makes things easier for her.

During her moments of thought, Khazri instead walked around the empty street, their teal eyes glancing at the trails of black smoke left behind by the invading creatures.

“These Stromlings,” they quietly started. “You probably already noticed, but there’s a lot of them running around causing chaos.”

Youko’s eyes simply narrowed.

“My companion is out dealing with them too,” the summoner continued. “But with their sheer amount? We’re gonna need more than that.”

Turning to Khazri, the biker gestured with both of her hands. A motion of the two together, followed by a sign with both thumb and index fingers.

“Next we should go to the camp,” they responded. “The Doctor mentioned a big one. Something about a–”

Indeed, the powerful roar of a monster broke any semblance of quietude in the scene.

Both Khazri and Youko stand alert immediately, their faces turning towards the source of this beastly call in the distance. Only, it is not nearly as far as it might appear.

With an expression of confusion and a visible shrug, Youko questioned the source of this metallic shout.

“Speak of the devil,” the Elemental Master simply added.

True enough, a few blocks away from this scene, the shadow of a swarm boss arrives.

There it stands, at the outskirts of the Crossroads where the refugee camp resides, its roars break any and all sound all over. Bursting from the grove past a small clearing, the stony jaws of the Storm Colossus announced the arrival of the final wave of this Stromling invasion.

“Is that–?” The Nindroid Theta Lennox muttered, taking a step away from the massive beast howling further ahead. It had not yet seen the group.

“An Alpha Storm Colossus,” Hiya Lie’s widened eyes fixed on the creature as she responded.

With a drop of cold sweat running across her face, the bat Formling Meiko Komori was filled with equal fear and curiosity as she turned to the Skyfolk engineer, bolts of dark lightning striking near the giant beast.

“What does that mean?” The young girl asked.

“I- I don’t know all the details,” Hiya replied as her expression furrowed, her hand reaching into her bag. “Swarm bosses lead hordes, but an Alpha variant is way bigger and stronger.”

After a brief moment and with her cellphone now on hand, Hiya frantically scrolled through various files and pictures of several kinds of monsters, Stromlings no doubt.

“They were only sent out on the final stages of the war,” she continued as she read through with great speed. “They- they shouldn’t even be here!”

Adjusting his hat with a hand, the detective Wane Corvus held his handgun tightly with the other.

“Hope you’ve got an idea on how to bring it down, Miss Lie.”

“I need to look further into it, but–”

“Wait, look!” Meiko immediately interrupts as she points to the trees behind the giant.

The group all turn to the spot. While the Colossus continues its rallying call – various Stromlings rushing by – the violent appearance of a blade launched itself towards the arm of the beast. A blade connected by a glowing wire of black and purple.

Soon after, with a jagged scythe on her hands, enters a mysterious figure in a red cloak from the shadows.

As the wire retracts itself, the cloaked figure shoots straight towards the monster. Using the scythe to cling onto its back, the Colossus’ angry shrieks attempted to fight off this sudden attacker.

“Is that… the Amethyst Storm?” Theta inquires in shock, gaze fixed on the scythe wielder.

Flailing its arms in a whip-like manner, the Colossus brushes off its opponent out in the air, only for this one to shoot the scythe’s wire back onto a different arm, clinging itself to the creature again almost immediately.

“That’s Yuno,” mutters Hiya under her breath. “She must’ve been fighting it before it got here…”

Locked in a fierce battle, Yuno Nightshade continued to slash away at the swarm boss with her weapon, all while making an effort to remain on top of the beast without falling. A task easier said than done, as the constant storm generated around the Colossus’ body made it a far more difficult ordeal.

And yet, with a fiery expression in her eyes, Yuno would not give up.

“Yuno??” Theta turns to Hiya in disbelief while the fight rages on ahead. “The Amethyst Storm is in the Force!?”

“We need to help her!” Meiko exclaims as her head hurriedly faces the rest of the group.

With a brief shake of her head, the Nindroid simply dismisses her current shock. There are far more pressing matters right now.

“I’d love to hear your ideas because how do you even begin to fight that thing off?” Theta’s eyes narrow as she clenches her teeth.

With a sudden gunshot coming from Corvus’ firearm, the Skulkin brings down a stray Darkling that had already pounced towards Theta’s direction. Judging by her sudden turn and the shaken expression from her eyes, it’s clear the hacker got caught off-guard.

“Hopefully sooner rather than later,” the detective stated. “Miss Nightshade over there won’t last forever, and neither will we.”

As the group continues to form some sort of plan while simultaneously fighting off Stromlings attempting to approach them, Meiko notices a silhouette from the woods. Following the faint rustling of the leaves, she catches a glimpse of a pair of wings and dual furious eyes.

A Darkling, rapidly approaching the Amethyst Storm. Normally a non-issue, but she’s evidently far too busy trying to remain on top of the giant beast and deal damage.

“Look out!” Meiko shouted out just in the perfect moment.

“What,” Yuno mutters as she takes notice of the sudden warning.

Indeed, the creature attempted an ambush. But a quick slice of her weapon is all the situation needed, the Darkling split in half as it attempted to attack the fighter during her distraction.

But even though the critter had not caused damage, the Storm Colossus took advantage all the same.

The brief window free of the many slashes from the cloaked lady’s scythe gave the monster just enough time to throw Yuno away into the air. Unable to shoot her weapon’s wire back at the beast, she would not be able to reconnect this time. Crashing against the crates at the camp was all but certain.

Much to her fortune, however, the faint trace of teal-colored energy seemed to slow down her flight. Upon further inspection after regaining her breath, she notices the energy that caught her took the form of many ghosty hands catching her fall.

Gently, she landed on her feet completely unharmed as the spectral arms all dissipated.

All she could do was chuckle.

“Took you long enough.”

Off to the side, merely a few meters away, Khazri Jinn held their glowing hand in the air as they summoned the power of their collective of souls. Close behind them, the leather-wearing biker Youko followed as well.

The Master of Souls acknowledges her with a smile and a nod, just in time to notice Yuno is clearly not the only one fighting here.

“Guess there’s a party going on in here already,” they smirked before turning to the Oni by his side. “This is the other Nexus Force agent I told you about”

Youko simply warily glances to the sides before giving a nod in greeting.

“Yuno!” Hiya ran closer to the newly-arrived trio, the rest of her own group just after. “Are you alright?”

Brushing off dust from her shoulder, Yuno simply smirks as she adjusts the brim of her hat.

“I’ve had worse,” she mutters non-chalantly before turning to face the young bat Formling. “Thanks for the heads up just now.”

Meiko smiles and nods enthusiastically at her, pride very much visible in her expression.

But the Storm Colossus continues its rampage. Powerful roars blast across the camp as lightning strikes rain down upon its surroundings, rage fully taking over the beast as it prepares to bring further chaos.

“I don’t imagine you guys have any plan against that,” Khazri’s hands light up with a teal flame as they prepare to join the fight.

“Reinforcements aren’t here yet,” Yuno’s eyes narrow as she grips her weapon tightly. “I’ve been trying to hold it back, and unless we get to the weak point–”

Hiya’s brow immediately shoots up as her voice suddenly rises. Theta is visibly startled, being the one standing next to her.

“That’s right!!” She exclaims as she frantically pulls her cellphone and begins browsing files. “Storm Colossi have a visible crack somewhere, it’s where the core that keeps it together is located. If we damage it enough, it’ll weaken and shatter!”

“Guess I’ll just have to find it soon,” Yuno smirks as the wire of her scythe swiftly shoots forward, herself launching alongside it as she slides across the ground.

With barely any time to react, the rest of the group simply stare at her as she flies towards the enraged Colossus, this one already noticing its attacker once again, ready to continue their fight.

“Will she be okay?” A look of concern crosses Meiko as her expression furrows.

While Corvus and Khazri fight surrounding Darklings attempting to attack the group, Yuno grapples onto the back of the monster and begins her own onslaught of slashes against it. Flailing its arms wildly as random bolts of thunder strike the area, the Amethyst Storm holds tightly onto a protruding rock spike upon the beast’s shoulder.

“She’s been in the Force the longest,” Hiya mutters as she examines the files on her phone before looking back up. “She held her own against it so far as well…”

“Right, so about that,” Theta shrugs as she raises her voice. “You said there’s a visible crack or whatever on that thing, and the Amethyst Storm’s been fighting it for a while. So, where the hell is it?”

Yuno can be seen continuously slashing the monster in an attempt to damage it, riding it away into random directions. Although it distracts the swarm boss, it only causes it to attack aimlessly in rage.

“The stone of its body must be stronger,” Hiya examines the giant Stromling as it fights. “Maybe a mutation from being an Alpha, a layer of stone that protects the core even further.”

From behind them, the dark-haired woman that arrived with Khazri takes a step forward, clearly attempting to grab their attention as she signals with various successive hand movements and an inquisitive expression on her face.

The girls simply exchange looks with each other.

“Any of you know signs…?” Theta simply mutters.

“She said,” Khazri starts as the spectre of an archer at their side shoots away a volley of arrows towards the incoming horde. “Maybe a stronger attack could reveal the heart.”

Youko nods in confirmation.

“That would work,” Hiya begins to scroll at the files in her cellphone. “There’s records of rockets and other large missiles being able to crack it open, as well as other vehicles, large robots, mech suits…”

From the side, a group of Dark Spiderlings approach the group. An attack from the ghostly blades of Khazri’s assassin takes one of them out, followed by a blast of dark energy formed by a glyph under another of them, courtesy of Youko’s powers.

“I hate to rain on the parade,” Corvus starts as he aims at the third of the spiders. “But unless we get it to stand still, explosives will be more troublesome. Especially here in the Crossroads.”

The fight with the Storm Colossus rages on as Yuno is launched away towards a nearby tree. Far from being removed, however, as she launches her weapon’s cable towards a wide branch and manages to swing from it and back onto the fight. 

A slight smirk draws on her face. She starts to tire, but still has plenty of fight left in her eyes.

“We’ll need something else then,” Hiya’s eyes narrow as she adjusts her glasses. “We can’t risk destroying the whole place.”

The rest of the group continues to fight the horde. Spiderlings, Hounds, several Darklings both winged and otherwise. Blasts of energy from Youko, as well as the various souls from Khazri’s collective.

In a quick reflex, Meiko spots a fallen weapon crate off in the side. Swords, blades, and most importantly, knives.

As a winged Darkling approaches Corvus, Meiko quickly turns into her bat form and speeds towards the stash. In the blink of an eye, she transforms back and immediately takes one of these knives and throws it towards the little beast, taking it out instantly.

As the black smoke disappears and the Skulkin takes notice, this one tips his hat to the girl in gratitude.

“Wait,” Theta mutters while the rest of them battle. “That’s right!”

“Wh-what’s right?” Hiya lowers her phone and turns to the Nindroid, confused.

“Hold on, I’ll be back,” she exclaims back as she begins to quickly run away.

“What are you–!?” Hiya shouts out in confusion as the hacker completely leaves the scene. “Hey hold on! Where are you going!?”

The engineer simply groans.

“Go with her, Miss,” Corvus suggests as shots from his handgun continue to be fired. “We can handle things here.”

She hesitates for a brief moment, but in the end Hiya nods to the detective and begins to run in whatever direction Theta disappeared into.

A few moments of running pass as she attempts to catch up. It’s eerily quieter the further she goes, but perhaps that is a good thing. The less Stromlings manage to sneak through and into the Crossroads, the better.

And so far, it’s none, thankfully.

“Where did you go??” Hiya exclaims as she raises her voice. There is no answer, nor any soul anywhere in the vicinity. Everyone must be hidden in their homes.

After shaking her head in annoyance, the Skyfolk continues to run ahead hoping to catch up to wherever Theta went off to.

Would’ve been nice if she at least said where.

The minutes feel endless out there. The rest of the group must be fighting tooth and nail back at the refugee camp, same thing as Doctor Overbuild, who she hasn’t seen at all in a good while. Hopefully he’s okay, is all Hiya can think.

Finally though, after looking aimlessly, there’s Theta standing in front of a gate further ahead.

“Ugh, finally!” Hiya shouts out as she runs towards her.

The Nindroid doesn’t even turn to face her, she’s far too focused fiddling with the gate’s lock.

“Why did you run after me if you have that jetpack thing,” she asks with a deadpan tone in her voice.

Hiya remains speechless, she’s far too annoyed to argue that…

“Where even are we?” The engineer looks at her surroundings. “This is… just a junkyard.”

Indeed, beyond the metal fence lay the remains of broken down vehicles, massive piles of all sorts of scrap, rats running away from the two women’s noise, and above all, the foul smell of the trash inside…

“Since you’re so insistent,” Theta rolls her eyes as her hands remain fixed on the lock. “Do you know what’s happening later this year?”

“I– No, I don’t think so?”

“It’s the Mech Master 5000,” the Nindroid explains. “9000? Ugh, whatever, it’s a race in the Crossroads. There’s a money prize on it and all, I don’t really care about it that much.”

“Uh– Alright,” Hiya glances away in confusion. “So why are we here then?”

“Did you not hear what I said?” The annoyed Theta turns to glance at her. “Say it again, slowly.”

“The… Mech Master,” her eyes widen as she realizes.

In just an instant after, the lock finally cracks and falls onto the ground, leaving access to the junkyard.

“Well done, genius,” the hacker simply mocks her as the two head inside. “The owner of this place participates in it, and as luck would have it, she’s got a fine piece hidden right here.”

“Wait, the owner?” Hiya inquires as they walk past towers of massive steel crates and other sorts of scraps. “Are you stealing it??”

“Hey, would you rather the Stromlings or whatever destroy the whole camp?”

“I mean, no, but–” the engineer is at a loss of words as she continues to follow the hacker walking with clear intent, almost as if she knew exactly where she’s going.

True enough, after a brief moment, they arrived.

Resting by a crate and surrounded by all manners of parts and tools, a large, humanoid mech suit colored in a hot pink tone stood perfectly still. With wheels for legs and various gilded decals across its ornate design, it’s clear this is not only a quality racing machine, but also one with much attention even to the most vain details.

“It… is impressive,” Hiya begrudgingly admires the construct from below.

Without a doubt, Theta could be seen already climbing the mech. Once at the top, she removes a panel within the pilot’s cabin in order to begin whatever process she has in plan.

“Do you even know how to drive it?” Hiya questions her.

“I don’t need to drive it,” Theta chuckles facetiously. “I hacked into you guys’ system before your boss recruited me. This is nothing.”

“I really need to ask him why he did that,” the Skyfolk mutters to herself as her face rests on a palm.

But that was no lie at all. After a few minutes, the engine roars as its legs begin to stretch, the racing mech stands fully operational now.

“Hey!!” Away from view, the furious voice of a woman shouts at the scene. “What is going on here!?”

From behind a pile of trash, the flamboyantly-dressed owner of the junkyard makes her appearance. A purple jacket with animal print and a similarly decorated hat, the short-haired woman angrily attempts to intervene.

Unfortunately for her, Theta simply leaves with the machine without so much as a word.

“My mech!! You!” The outraged owner turns to the shaken engineer. “What are you doing with my mech!?”

But as much as Hiya hated this idea, there’s no more time now.

“Sorry!!” She exclaims as hard light wings form behind her, a trail of blue light appearing underneath as she lifts up into the air. “We’ll bring it back, I promise!”

Seeing her precious machine run off and completely flatten the metal gate at her scrapyard’s entrance, the seething woman could do nothing but scream into the air as the Skyfolk flew away with no further explanation as well.

Running at high speeds, Theta’s gaze faces onward as she takes this machine back to the refugee camp.

“You could’ve given me a heads up, you know?” Hiya exclaims as she catches up with her wings, flying just beside the mech’s pilot cabin.

“Hey, you made it, didn’t you?” Theta dismisses her. “We got this.”

Back at the camp, the rest of the group continue their own fights.

Khazri, Youko and Corvus all destroy any Stromlings that manage to approach them, no matter the kind, all while Yuno continues to slash away at the Storm Colossus as it uses its overwhelming powers to brush her away.

Repeated attacks with her blade slowly chip away the hardened layer of stone on its back. It’s a slow process, tiresome as well, but she doesn’t have many options…

At last, though, there it is… The tiny glimpse of white light seeping through a small crack upon its back.

“Gotcha,” Yuno smiles before attempting a large stab with her scythe.

But such an attack is impossible.

Shaking and blasting away bolts of lightning, the Colossus keeps knocking Yuno off and away from the newly formed budding wound until eventually she’s forced to land back in the ground. The core’s location may be revealed, but without the chance to actually damage it,  they’ll never be able to finally destroy it.

Off to the side, the small silhouette of a bat bursts into a flash of pink light and reveals Meiko returning to the scene next to Khazri.

“Everyone’s been escorted away!” Meiko exclaims immediately after. “There’s no more people in danger out there.”

“Great news for a change!” The Master of Souls responds happily. “Now we just need to get rid of the big boy.”

But the moment got interrupted by the very faint sound of approaching machinery.

“Did you hear that?” Meiko mutters.

“With this much chaos, hardly, I’m afraid!” Khazri responds.

With another bright transformation, the bat flies into the sky above once again in order to spy at the source of whatever the sound could be, worried it could be another sort of Stromling.

Much to her surprise, however, the scene is only that of Hiya Lie, closely following the pink mech suit running just ahead of her.

With an excited chirp and brief wiggles of her ears, Meiko flies back down to the rest.

“The others! They’re back!” She announces as soon as she turns back into human form.

At this point, the sound of the coming robot is nothing but evident. Hearing the screeching sound of drifting wheels and the stomps of metal, everyone turns to face the ornate mech burst into the scene as it instantly tackles against the Stone Colossus.

“What the–?” Yuno reacts immediately. “That ain’t ours…”

“It’s not!” Hiya exclaims as she lands near her, the rest of the group converging around her soon after. “Theta, uhm– borrowed it.”

Khazri simply lets out a laugh.

“That’ll do alright!” They smile.

And that certainly it does. Despite not being a mech designed for fighting, the machine’s sturdy arms allowed it to throw powerful strikes against the swarm boss, strong enough to knock it back. Additionally, a mech with such quality also allowed it to withstand some of the monster’s own blows.

“The back!” Yuno shouts at the Nindroid. “The core is in the back!”

Loud and clear, Theta caught the words of the Amethyst Storm. All she needs to do is land a big strike at the creature’s back. No big deal, right?

But the task is easier said than done.

With its whip-like arms, the Colossus manages to retaliate against Theta’s punches from a safer distance, keep her away from range to fight back.

“Ugh, seriously?” The Nindroid groans in annoyance.

Trying to use the mech’s arms to block away the attacks, Theta attempts to close off the distance to attempt attacking once again. Although this much is successful, she’s only able to land hits at the front.

“It’s protecting its back,” Meiko notes with a frown. “She won’t get it at this rate.”

“We need to distract it,” Yuno adds.

Call it inventiveness or call it the pressure of the moment, but perhaps there is something.

“I think I have an idea,” Hiya announces to the others.

The violent exchange of punches and flailing claw attacks continue. Despite being able to put on a much better fight, the constant strikes of lightning will eventually be the end of this machine. If they don’t destroy it quickly, there may not be another shot at it.

Holding its arms close to the chest, the Colossus releases a big tornado-like attack in Theta’s direction, dealing not only damage to the mech but also knocking her back closer than other of its abilities.

Stunned for a fraction of a second, that is all the monster needs to direct a slicing attack with its hand at the Nindroid’s direction.

But the sudden black and purple wire that shot itself towards the beast’s claw stopped it immediately.

Combined with the aggressive speed of the beasts strike, the wire from Yuno’s scythe managed to dislocate and then even remove the claw from the giant altogether.

“Lost something?” Yuno teases the Colossus as she smirks, the dismembered claw of the swarm boss embedded on the ground.

As the finger already starts to return to the rest of the arm, clearly the monster remains unharmed.

But it is now distracted.

Enraged, the Storm Colossus directs its anger upon the Amethyst Storm as it brings down its arm whole in an attempt to flatten her entirely, only to be immediately stopped on the spot by the spectral arms of a purple demon.

Youko, alongside the soul of Yudai, managed to catch the beast’s arm just before this one slammed it against the blonde woman. She’s strong, but evidently not strong enough to truly hold back the strength of an Alpha swarm boss.

Luckily for her, the appearance of multiple spirits held the burden as well.

Helping Youko hold off the arm of the beast, Khazri’s summoned spectres give her just enough help to block the attack fully.

Determined to smash them to pieces, the Colossus is far too blinded by its rage to realize its back is now fully exposed to Theta and the racing mech, who slowly managed to get back on its feet.

“Impressive machinery you have here, Miss Lennox,” the unmistakable voice of Wane Corvus spoke through the mech’s radio.

“What the–?” Theta reacted. “How did you–?”

“Most Mech Master racing machines have the same frequency I can tap into,” he proudly announces. “Now, would you be so kind and allow me access to the machine’s camera?”

Indeed, racing mechs are required to have cameras installed to ensure the best quality for a race, as well as safety in the case of accidents or to prevent certain forms of cheating.

With some messing around the control panel, the mech’s camera view promptly appeared inside Corvus’ handheld screen.

“Very kind,” he thanked the Nindroid. “I will highlight your target for you.”

The crack dealt by Yuno was unfortunately far too small to notice, but thanks to Corvus’ own expertise in cameras and surveillance, the miniscule weak point is now more than visible in the mech’s screen.

“You don’t say,” Theta smirks.

She has one shot at this, and she certainly won’t waste it. Running forward towards the beast, Theta unleashes a downward strike upon the highlighted wound. Shattering into many fragments of stone, the Storm Colossus roars out in pain as the crack that houses its core is now fully visible to all.

With the mech’s fist fully embedded into it, Theta continues to damage it for as long as she can.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Khazri exclaims excitedly, the others sharing no less happiness as well.

But it’s not time to celebrate yet. The Colossus cry of pain is also a cry for help. All Stromlings of the horde still active all suddenly turn to the swarm boss as they run to assist it one more time.

But the group is more than ready.

“Protect her!” Hiya exclaims. “Go around and surround them. Don’t let them get near!”

Following the order with perfection, everyone circled around Theta and the monster in order to cover every possible corner. No Stromling will be running past.

Blasts of Oni energy and a flurry of punches come from Youko’s end, spirits of all sorts of styles and weaponry all assist Khazri in thinning down the forces of the horde, and various monsters attempt to bring down Corvus, only to be met with the false image of a hologram left behind by the Skulkin before being promptly shot down by the real one off to the side.

Shooting down Darklings and Spiderlings both, Hiya aims her rifle at all directions around her. With such a sudden influx of Stromlings all congregating on the spot now, it’s definitely harder to keep track of all of them…

Just enough to allow a stray Spiderling to approach the engineer from behind.

Ready to deal its finishing attack, the creature stands ready to attack Hiya. By the time she turns around, it would’ve been too late.

Were it not for the sudden slash of a greatsword splitting the spider in half.

Shaken by the event, Hiya manages to catch a mere glimpse of the swordsman, standing against the moonshine. His features could not be made clearly, save for the monstrous red eyes that could pierce any soul.

And yet, these eyes only transmitted fear and sorrow.

Before being able to say anything, Hiya caught another Darkling off the corner of her eye attempting to attack as well. Easily dealt with, a single shot from her rifle is all it took to destroy it.

Alas, by the time the black smoke dissipates, the swordsman is nowhere to be seen…

“Look!” Yuno interrupts the moment as she points at the Storm Colossus. “The core!”

Thanks to Theta’s continuous attack with the mech’s fist, the monster’s chest had now cracked, its heart finally exposed.

“Someone shoot it down!” She continues.

Regaining her composure, Hiya aims her rifle towards the swarm boss after having dealt with the Spiderling’s halves from just now. But the Colossus, in its rage, moves far too much, its flailing arms blocking the way constantly as well.

“I can’t get a clear shot!”

Remaining quiet for a brief moment, Meiko stares blankly before her mind returns to the present.

“Quick, someone pass me a knife!” The young bat exclaims.

Grabbing one from her belt, Yuno tosses it towards the teenager, who manages to catch it perfectly.

With a deep breath, Meiko holds the knife over her right shoulder as she aims with her left hand. Her eyes fully fixed on the moving Colossus and its exposed core. A shot like this would be impossible to most with such an enraged beast as its target.

And yet there is no hesitation in her throw.

Flying away, the knife flew in a line and past the erratic arms of the monster as it landed perfectly upon its heart.

Pierced completely, the Storm Colossus lets out one final roar of pain, harsher and more violent than any other before. Finished off with one more strike from the Theta, the mech’s fist strikes through the heart once and for all.

In a giant flash of lightning and thunder, the rocks that formed the swarm boss all burst into an explosion of energy as its remains fly into many directions, all soon turning into nothing but the darkened mist of all Stromlings.

At long last, the fight is over.

“Did we do it?” Hiya quietly asks while everyone comes together once more.

Everyone looks all around, Stromlings nowhere in sight, and for the first time in all night, quiet.

Except of course, for the sudden burst of laughter coming from the Master of Souls.

“We did it!” Khazri exclaims as they walk to the back and hold Hiya and Youko close for a celebratory hug.

But just in that instant, another distant sound breaks the scene.

Only, not that of battle.

Far into the distance the barely visible silhouette of a dropship can be seen approaching the scene as a new day slowly begins to make its appearance once again.

It’s a dropship of the Nexus Force.

“Oh you’ve gotta be kidding me,” Theta remarks as she climbs back down from the badly damaged racing mech.

“Good timing, eh?” Corvus adds, his tone almost playful.

Meiko audibly giggles, Youko crosses her arms as a slight smile forms in her face as well.

A smiling Yuno could be seen about to add a comment of her own as well, but not before turning around to finally see a familiar face. One the others notice as well.

The face of a friend.

“Albert!” Hiya exclaims immediately as she runs to her mentor.

Tired but fully safe, Doctor Overbuild makes it back as well at last.

“Oh I’m so sorry I didn’t listen to your orders!” She pleads as she holds her hands together. “I know I should’ve listened to you and gone to safety along with everyone else, but I couldn’t just stay there knowing you were out there all along and–!”

The Doctor simply chuckles.

“Don’t worry,” he calms her with a gesture of his hand.

Glancing for a moment at the whole group standing together, Albert could do nothing but smile.

“I was busy fighting off some stragglers while leading a group of people to safety,” he starts. “I came back as soon as that was done, and yet…”

 The group all exchange glances with one another, Yuno in particular crosses her arms with a very peculiar smirk on her lips.

“You all saved the refugee camp. The people, the place, everyone…” The Doctor rests his eyes on each and every member of the group. “When the Crossroads needed you, you were there.”

“It’s the least one could do, Doctor,” Corvus tips his hat with a nod.

“And yet, all of you went above and beyond,” Albert adds before turning to Yuno. “It’s exactly what we need, hm?”

She could simply chuckle.

“And… what is that?” Hiya asks curiously.

“Heroes.”

For one reason or another, this word felt strange in Theta’s chest. Heroes.

Is that what she was today?

“You rose up to the task, you grabbed weapons, you saved people, you took initiative!” The Doctor walked closer to face everyone individually. “This is who you all could be.”

“Wait,” Theta interrupts him as she steps forward. “What do you mean.”

As he stares at the Nexus Force dropship arriving nearby, dropping off the members of Team Venomhound as they run in all directions to finish off any and all stragglers from the invasion, Albert simply smiles.

“A team,” he finally adds. “A team of heroes, all together to protect this place, the Crossroads.”

“What??”

“Wait, seriously??” Meiko exclaims.

“The Ninja are gone for now,” Albert frowns. “But this place? This place is the future, the promise of a new world… I want a world for everyone. A world where one can come back to and find a place to belong. A home.”

Staring into the sunrise for a brief moment, Albert smiles and turns back to face the group.

“What do you all think?”

Silence absorbed the scene. All manners of thoughts crossed everyone on the spot.

But the answer is clear.

With a determined nod and a step forward, Youko is the first to accept.

“I’m in!” Excitedly exclaims Meiko. “I want to help this place!”

“This is our duty as Nexus Force agents, right?” Khazri smiles.

“It’s what the people deserve,” Corvus chuckles and adjusts the brim of his hat. “I’m in.”

“So am I,” Hiya smiles as her eyes glisten. “This is our chance to do good here, for everyone.”

“You already know my answer, Albert,” Yuno crosses her arms and smirks.

That was all of them. All but one.

Off on the side, Theta stands frozen in place. Her head could do nothing but continue to spin around that very word.

Hero.

With a reassuring hand upon her shoulder snapping her back into reality, Theta saw the gentle face of Doctor Overbuild smiling at her.

“No matter what you choose,” he calmly speaks. “We will find your mother. I promise.” 

Glancing away, thoughts continue to eat away at Theta’s mind. A few moments of this pass, mere seconds that feel nearly endless.

But finally, she has an answer.

“For everyone that’ll come after,” she mutters.

Albert simply responds with a slight nod.

“Okay,” she finally responds. “I’m in.”

Absorbed in deep pride and joy, Doctor Overbuild’s face is drawn with a wide smile as he accepts everyone into this brand new team.

“We will do great things here,” he announces. “I promise to all of you.”

A deeply heartwarming moment, were it not for the sudden break of this gentle silence at sunrise.

“You!!”

Bursting into the scene, the owner of the junkyard finally makes her way into the refugee camp, angrily approaching poor wide-eyed Hiya.

“You’ve got some explaining to do! Just look at my mech!”

“I’m so sorry!” Hiya raises her hands in an attempt to calm her down, frozen in place like a spooked deer. “I swear you’ll be fully compensated–”

“COMPENSATED? How am I supposed to compete with this thing now! You’re gonna be doing some compensating alright!”

The rest of the group share laughs and confusion both, even Theta couldn’t help but find this sudden outrage deeply amusing to witness.

With a smile, Albert glances away at the remains of the Storm Colossus, the trail of black smoke left behind. 

This attack is no mere coincidence.

Even now in good times, his mind too is full of various thoughts. This was an organized attack from the Stromlings, complete with an Alpha swarm boss leading the horde, all running past fully undetected.

The Darkitect may be gone, the Stromlings may be without a leader, but something incited them to do this. What is the meaning of this?

This is only the beginning.

MONSTER FIGHTERS CANON (MAYBE) (POSSIBLY) (I MEAN COME ON THAT PLACE IS LORD VAMPYRE'S CASTLE YOU CAN'T TELL ME OTHERWISE)

Ahem. So assuming they're not cowards the Land of Monsters IS the same realm from Monster Fighters, that means Jacques is lore-friendlier than ever <3

I really doubt they'd actually delve on the story of the Fighters and Lord Vampyre, which I always liked to imagine did happen in the same universe a good decades in the past, so I'm not expecting to rewrite this any time soon.

Both Youko and Takeru immediately turn to face the screen. The image of the pink-clothed reporter aboard a helicopter could be seen followed by overhead shots of various small creatures. Feral, with claws as long as their arms, and a trail of fog behind their steps.

Down in the scene we can see what appears to be Doctor Albert Overbuild of the Nexus Force attempting to fight these creatures off, but with these monsters coming from all sides towards their refugee camps, I fear it might not be enough!

Indeed, shots from the cameraman display various other creatures of many forms rapidly approaching the surrounding area. Soldiers of the Nexus Force can be sighted shooting down the hordes, although slowly losing terrain.

I advise all viewers and listeners to stay in their homes, find shelter, and wait for the Nexus Force to deal with these things before any harm can come to the city. I repeat, do not come out of your homes until it’s safe!

Before either of the two were able to react, the distant sound of an alarm could be heard outside. As both biker and server stepped out the door to see the source, no doubt remained as it was the emergency alert of the city.

With a brief glance directed to the waiter, this one simply nodded as his eyes remained in shock.

“Yeah, I get it,” he muttered.

With another nod in return, Youko ran towards her motorcycle by the road as she put the horned helmet atop her head, ready to ride off into the chaos at the Crossroads.

The Stromling invasion.

Just as the reporter spoke, Doctor Overbuild continued blasting away at the small Stromlings with bursts of Imaginite energy coming from the mechanical arms at his back. One after another exploding into a cloud of black smoke that slowly dissipated into the sky.

But unbeknownst to him, a different creature approached him.

With the claws and growls of a beast, a wolf wreathed in purple flames slowly stepped closer as it prepared to pounce upon its new victim.

Announced by a powerful roar, the hound made its move.

Albert turned to it immediately, fully prepared to make a counterattack of his own. And yet, it would not be needed.

Suspended in the air by many disembodied hands bearing a spectral aura, the flaming wolf promptly flew away as this mysterious teal-hued energy threw it with ease, exploding into the same dark fog of the Doctor’s previous attackers.

As he witnessed this, a second beast made its move as it hid from the shadows in an attempt to ambush him, only to suffer a similar fate.

A black and purple wire with a blade on its very end burst into the scene as it pierced the Stromling, wrapping itself around its body immediately after. Before this one even managed to tumble upon the ground, the wire pulled him with violent speed only to end up sliced in half by the giant scythe of a woman cloaked in red.

As the two clouds of smoke born of the wolf’s two halves disappeared, these revealed the woman under the wide brimmed hat to be Yuno Nightshade, the Amethyst Storm.

And not too far from her, the teal aura of the Elemental Master of Souls – Khazri Jinn – soon made their appearance as well.

“I guess I missed my invitation to the party,” Yuno smirked as she approached the Doctor, who faintly smiled with a sigh of relief..

“I’m so glad to see you two,” he faced the blonde woman as Khazri too approached him. “I would’ve called you, but… we were taken by surprise.”

Crossing her arms after retracting her weapon, Yuno observed the various blasts of energy around the area.

“Don’t have to tell me that.”

“We came here as soon as we heard the alarm,” a look of concern crosses Khazri as they step forward.

“You evacuated yet?” Yuno asked.

“I had Hiya handle that,” the Doctor confirms with a nod, hints of worry visible in his eyes. “Hopefully they should be approaching the shelter by now.”

The roars and shrieks of many Stromlings echoed across the streets of the Crossroads, something the group noticed. Growls and shouts so distinct from each other, the sign of many of their ilk.

“They brought lots of friends, hm?” Yuno rested a hand on her hip as she returned her gaze to the Doctor.

Albert walked towards the manhole from which all these dozens of Darklings emerged, staring at the smoke that had slowly disappeared from it by now.

“This isn’t just some small group of stray Stromlings,” his expression furrowded. “Even without the Darkitect, they knew when to attack.”

Yuno and Khazri both exchange a silent look with each other.

“I know you guys are the experts at fighting these,” the Master of Souls started, raising an eyebrow. “But how do you know that?”

“Earlier, I heard thunder,” Albert muttered as he turned to face the two. “A roar too.”

A brief silence took over as disbelief appeared in Yuno’s eyes.

“You’re kidding me.”

“I wish I was,” the Doctor murmured with a somber tone, walking closer to them. “It’s a swarm boss.”

As Yuno’s eyes narrow, a glimpse of concern crosses Khazri’s own.

“They’re bigger, more powerful Stromlings. Leaders of a massive horde,” Albert faces the Elemental Master as he explains. “I don’t know how one of those managed to get anywhere near here, but now is not the time to speculate.”

“We need to stop these things then,” Khazri’s eyes lit with determination. “Before they do any damage.”

“I already called Team Venomhound,” Albert nodded in agreement. “But it’ll take time before they can even return…”

With the sounds of blades and metal moving, Yuno had pulled her scythe back out and into its fully transformed state.

“Guess we’ll have to buy some time,” she smiled.

Elsewhere, the fight continues.

Further into the refugee camp’s supply hoard, crates and bags lay broken and tattered on the ground as giant spiders of shadowed sludge slowly approach the engineer Hiya Lie and the hacker Theta Lennox.

The writhing of their oozing bodies nothing short of sickening, matched only by the foul stench of their stained fangs as they hissed at the two women.

The unique rifle in the engineer’s hands shined in blue as her sights were set upon the monsters. The snarls of the spiders could be threatening to all, and indeed the drops of cold sweat running through her cheek betrayed the fear in the poor dreamer’s mind.

But not once would she lower her weapon.

As the first of the spiders announced its move with a terrible shriek, Hiya had already pulled the trigger of her machine. A beam of light shot itself into the creature’s face, its largest eye bursting into the characteristic black smoke that signaled a Stromlings destruction.

Squirming in pain – or at least as much as a Maelstrom creature could feel – it only took a second shot before this one’s body dissipated into nothing more.

Without hesitation, Hiya had already turned to repeat the same shot towards the next target.

This second spider managed to make it closer to the two, its legs carelessly carrying the swelling body towards its would-be victims. But much like the first, one more shot is all it takes to end it for good.

The third of the creatures nearly managed to jump the two, were it not for Theta’s quick reflexes that allow her to dodge the Stromling’s lunge and subsequent bite. Blinded by its lust for corruption, the spider had failed to recognize Hiya as its true target.

Without further fight, the last spider faced the same fate as those before it.

Trying to catch her breath, Hiya slowly lowered her weapon after confirming no more creatures attempted to attack the two.

“Those didn’t look like the others,” muttered Theta as her eyes turned to what little remained of the vanishing spider.

“Like I said, these are creatures corrupted by the Maelstrom,” Hiya replied as she adjusted her glasses. “These are Spiderlings, a lot more dangerous.”

“Spiderlings?” Her brow shot up in shock as she turned to the engineer. “Those were babies!?”

Hiya observed her weapon to ensure its state. No overheating or malfunction apparent, energy core still operative as well.

“You see why it took the whole Nexus Force to end that war?” She glanced at Theta while continuing her examination. “We’re lucky we didn’t get-”

“Look out!” The Nindroid interrupted.

Behind Hiya’s back, a stray Darkling had already pounced towards the engineer with no warning, only the ear-splitting squeal of its attack.

Proving to be fast enough to turn around in time, Hiya lifted her rifle once more as she prepared to take the shot.

But much to her shock, the creature crashed against the ground as the bullet of another weapon sent it flying to the side.

The two girls turned to their side expecting to see Doctor Overbuild once more, surprised to instead glance at a dark figure shadowed by a wide brimmed hat, one who aimed a unique black pistol at the Darkling laying down.

“Detective Corvus,” muttered a baffled Theta.

“You know this person?” Hiya’s wide gaze betrayed utter confusion too as she turned to the Nindroid.

Holding his gun up with finger away from the trigger, the detective of the crow sigil – Wane Corvus – stepped forward and up to a respectful distance from the two.

“Me and Miss Lennox met this evening for a case,” he confirmed as he tipped his hat to the Skyfolk woman. “Pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Miss Lie.”

Clearly not helping with her own questions. 

“Wait, how do you-?” The wide-eyed engineer started.

“Yeah he does that,” Theta immediately interrupted her with a dismissing wave of her hand. “What are you doing here?”

The detective couldn’t help but feel a certain amusement as evidenced by a brief, quiet chuckle.

“Before you and the Doctor left, I noticed you staring outside at something,” he turned to the hacker as he spoke. “I looked into my surveillance system after you were gone, try to dig deeper into things. I saw this little friend here, heading for your camp.”

The Skulkin pointed at the seemingly lifeless corpse of the Darkling with his pistol. A short lived moment. Squirming on the spot as its body pulsates, the gunshot wound found upon the side of its head slowly appeared to reconstruct itself.

“Doesn’t seem to like staying still,” he noted.

“Are you kidding me?” Theta groaned in annoyance, a hint of disgust visible too.

With nothing yet to add, Hiya charged her rifle once more and walked towards the writhing Darkling. Before this one had managed to fully heal, the engineer aimed her weapon at the ground where its body lay down, ending it for good with a quick shot of energy.

“They regenerate unless you use special weapons,” she finally confirmed as her eyes landed upon her device. “That’s why I made this, it’s powered by Imaginite.”

Theta turned to stare at it as well. It’s true, the Stromlings destroyed by the Doctor earlier disappeared into black smoke immediately, as did the Spiderlings just now.

This new one too only started to vanish only now. Their weapons shared the same properties, most likely all Nexus Force equipment does.

“You fought these monsters before, miss?” Inquired Corvus as he put his pistol to the side.

“No, but I’ve studied them,” Hiya turned to the detective as her voice lowered. “I looked at our files, our database, I know a lot about them, I’ve just… never seen them in person.”

Before any of them could continue, various roars and squeals resonated in the distance, the very same direction where the three could spy on trails of the Maelstrom’s smoke flying up into the night sky above.

“They’re all around,” murmured a concerned Hiya. “I thought they were only coming from that sewer but… this is a full on raid.”

As bursts of energy illuminate the path from where they came, Theta notices Albert Overbuild too continues to hold back the Stromling horde over at his own side.

“He still needs help too,” a small drop of sweat fell through Hiya’s forehead. “I don’t know what to do.”

Theta glanced at the expression upon her face. Confusion, fear, despite having destroyed those spiderlings with no hesitation at all, she remained frozen with incertitude now. Anxiety seen through the subtle bouncing of her foot.

“If I may,” Corvus broke the silence with a step closer to the engineer. “Doctor Overbuild has quite the achievements under his belt. I believe whatever happens, he could handle it just fine.”

The worry in her eyes did not disappear, but a shine behind her glasses could now be seen as Hiya turned to hear the detective’s words.

All manners of thoughts cross her head, impossible to list them all. But in the end, he was right.

“Sorry Albert,” she muttered to herself after a brief sigh.

Adjusting a number of settings and buttons to the side of her weapon, the Skyfolk woman had come to a decision.

“We need to help the refugees,” after a few moments, Hiya finally faced the fight’s direction, the path to the shelter. “The guards are trained… but with that amount of people around them, there’s not much they can do without others getting hurt.”

“Clearing the path then,” Corvus added with a tip of his hat, a content air in his voice. “Smart approach, I’m not surprised the Doctor took you under his wing.”

“Still don’t know how to feel about you knowing me but,” Hiya quickly stopped. “Doesn’t matter, let’s go.”

Indeed, along the road that leads to the location of the designated emergency shelter, soldiers of the Nexus Force shoot down various winged Darklings attempting to attack the refugees from the skies.

Although these flying ghouls prove to be no threat, their numbers slowly grow and prevent them from further progress towards their goal. To make matters worse, the gruesome horse-like monsters slowly approaching continue to spawn these creatures through the giant reeking eggs upon their backs.

And of course, the overwhelming roar of thunder, closer than ever.

The many groups of defenseless refugees come together, sweat in their heads as the shivering of their bodies reveals the fear flowing across them all.

Sobs can be heard, among the people a small Serpentine child held her stuffed dragon close to the chest. Judging from her reddish scales, she seemed to belong to the Fangpyre tribe, one that separated from her parents during the chaos of the evacuation.

Not even her tears could drown out the blaring shots nor shouts.

“Hey, it’s gonna be alright,” said the gentle voice of a girl behind the kid.

Trying to wipe the tears off her face, the child turned around to see the warm brown eyes of a hooded Formling. With a cloak of fur in the likeness of a bat, Meiko Komori crouched to match the Serpentine’s height.

She too was afraid, but the caring smile in her face was soothing above all else.

“The Nexus Force is gonna protect us,” she continued. “It’s what they do, they’re heroes.” 

Despite being a complete stranger, the Formling somehow managed to bring a certain peace to the fearful child. She seemed genuine…

“They’ll make sure we’re safe, back with our families too. I promise.”

The little girl sniffled as she rubbed her nose. As her sobs started to calm, she managed to return a very slight smile to the nice bat that gave her comfort. Holding her plushie even closer, the kid turns around to see the strong soldiers of the Force fight in their name.

Shifting her sights upon them, Meiko as well notices the arrival of new people coming to protect them.

As one of the Darklings bursts into smoke with the shot of a blue beam of energy, Hiya Lie enters the scene as she runs to the closest soldier of the Force, both Theta and Corvus close behind her.

“Is everyone alright?” Hiya faces the guard in white and blue armor, a man of the Sentinel faction.

The guard glances at the groups of people besides them before turning back to Hiya.

“We’re attempting to escort everyone to safety,” affirms the soldier as he adjusts the black visor of his helmet. “We had to split into groups. A few of them made it to the shelter but we’re stuck in here right now.”

“How so?” A few rapid blinks and a slight tilt of her head revealed Hiya’s curiosity, as well as concern.

“There’s Stromlings all over the routes,” he nodded. “Every time we make a turn there’s more of those Breeder horses spawning those winged freaks.”

With a gesture of his hand, the soldier presents their surrounding area.

“We’re trying to shoot them down, but without knowing what’s ahead, we’ll never make any progress like this.”

“The longer we stay here,” the engineer started. “The more chances the people here will get hurt, or worse.”

As shots of Imaginite energy continue to fly across the area and the bodies of Darklings fell one after the other, Theta notices the thrusters at the bottom of the metal backpack hanging from Hiya’s back.

“Hey, that’s a jetpack or something, right?” She asks. “Why don’t you just… fly up, see what’s around?”

Turning around to face the Nindroid, Hiya only frowns.

“They’re wings,” she starts. “Yeah, I can fly with them, but I couldn’t go that high up without drawing the attention of every Darkling around here.”

“Can’t you just shoot them down?” Theta shrugs.

“Darklings’ specialty is attacking in swarms,” Hiya continues as she faces the sky above, various of the winged creatures flying and falling into smoke. “I’d be choosing between scouting ahead or fighting them.”

A single groan became Theta’s only response.

“I’ll do it!”

Taken off-guard, the group turns around to face the source of the unknown voice, only to notice the young bat that managed to listen to the conversation.

Obvious from her clothes, this is a refugee, no member of the Nexus Force.

“I’m a bat Formling,” Meiko started, determination bringing a certain shimmer to her eyes. “I’m fast and small enough to go around those monsters without them seeing me.”

“What!?” A wide-eyed Theta immediately reacts. “Are you insane, kid?”

Despite his eyes being covered by a dark visor, one can still see the shock drawn across the soldier’s mouth as he turns to face the short teenager.

“Miss, please, I urge you return to the group and remain safe.”

Looking up to see the guard, a towering man in comparison to her, a frown appeared under Meiko’s hood.

“Respectfully sir, none of us are gonna be safe either if we can’t move!”

The soldier’s gaze turns to the rest of the group, unsure of how to proceed. It’s true, every minute that passes brings more danger than the one before, not only for the young bat, but for everyone.

“There’s no cameras installed in this street,” Corvus murmurs just loudly enough for Hiya to hear. “No way for us to look at our surroundings otherwise.”

Her brow furrowed while her golden eyes glanced at no particular direction as thoughts consumed her mind. Following a few brief moments that felt eternal, Hiya’s gaze met with that of the Formling.

This is no stupid kid, there is clear fear in her eyes, the quivering on her jaw…

And yet she remains more than intent in her idea.

“Alright,” Hiya concluded.

Both Theta and the soldier turned to her in utter shock, even Meiko herself seemed surprised.

“You can’t be serious,” the former spoke, completely baffled.

“We don’t have any other options,” Hiya faced the Nindroid over her shoulder before turning back to Meiko. “I’ll shoot down any Darkling in your path, that should keep them distracted.”

With more determination than ever, the bat responded with a quick nod.

“But please keep in mind,” the engineer continued, leaning closer to the girl as her tone lowered. “These creatures aren’t like any other. They can infect others, and once they do, there is no cure.”

Her words are scary, terrifying even. But there’s no backing out anymore, this is for the good of the whole camp, as well as those who chose to give them all a new chance.

It’s what any hero would do.

In a flash of pink light, the cloaked girl had taken on the form of a small brown bat, flying high and fast into the skies above the buildings of the city, past the shrieking creatures that ignored her completely.

Both Hiya and the Nexus Force soldier at her side provided support fire, bringing down any Darkling that even so much as looked towards the bat’s direction. All according to plan, the rest of them were too distracted with them to even pay attention to the bat that flew above them.

Doing circles around the area, Meiko examined the streets surrounding them and the rest of the group. Indeed, much like the soldier said, the horse-like monsters and its winged spawn approached their location from various streets. Their walking was extremely slow, but those born from their backs remain the biggest threat.

Much to her fortune, however, Meiko managed to spy a block yet to be overrun by Stromlings. A safe passage.

With a few chirps, the little bat descended back towards the rest of the group.

“This way, I found a path!” Exclaimed the girl who quickly turned to her natural form in the blink of an eye. “Here, follow me!”

Just as easily as she turned back, Meiko quickly returned to bat shape in a flash, her chirps acting as a guide for the soldiers of the Force.

“Let’s get moving, everyone!” Announced the Sentinel guard. “Stay close and lower your heads at all times!”

And of course, alongside them Hiya, Theta and Corvus continued as well, shooting down any Darklings attempting to catch up.

“I hope you know you’re insane,” muttered the Nindroid with a glare on her eyes.

“Maybe I am,” Hiya replied. “But we were all kids once.”

Across the streets, Meiko made turns at various crossings that – while seemingly random – allowed the group to make their way with little resistance save from a few stray Darklings that would be promptly shot down both by Hiya and the soldiers of the Nexus Force escorting the refugees.

After a few moments, they had finally arrived at Raines Street.

With a large metal gate up front, there stood the parking lot of an out-of-service office building. Reinforced, and with the insignia of the Nexus Force above it, this is the emergency refugee shelter.

It does not hold nearly as much room for it to be a proper camp for those who were lost, but it can withstand any potential attack from creatures of all sorts that may threaten it.

“Carefully, no pushing,” the Sentinel soldier guided everyone inside. “That’s it, rows of three.”

Hiya and the others remained outside, ensuring the people made it safely. Soon after, the little bat too had descended besides the group, turning back into her normal form.

“I’m so glad you’re safe!” Hiya exclaimed immediately.

Meiko responded with a wide smile, but a sudden sharp pain on her left shoulder prevented her from speaking further.

“Hey, you okay?” Hiya reacted as she took a step forward, Corvus and Theta visibly noticing this as well.

“Yeah I just- It’s a wound from last week,” Meiko smiled, trying to downplay the pain. “Don’t worry about it.”

“You went out there flying around those things and didn’t even mention you were wounded?” Theta looked almost angry, her expression in disbelief.

“You wouldn’t have agreed if I did,” the Formling simply kept a slight grin, much to the Nindroid’s visible annoyance.

“Anyways, everyone’s safe now,” Hiya sighed in relief before turning to face the soldier with them. “I need you to stay here and protect all the refugees.”

“Yes ma’am,” he affirmed with a nod.

“What, where are you going?” Theta threw her arms away as Hiya already started to make her way back from where they came.

“Now that the camp’s safe, I’m going back to help Albert,” she turned around as she replied. “He’s still alone, and I don’t know when we’re getting reinforcements. I need you to stay here as well until it’s over.”

“What?” Replied an offended Theta. “No way! Weren’t you listening? I’m not just gonna stand around and do nothing!”

With a light groan, Hiya walked closer to the hacker.

“It’s not safe out there,” she insisted, gesturing at the surroundings with a palm. “You don’t even have a weapon!”

“Well then just get me one,” Theta shrugs as her voice’s volume raises. “I don’t care.”

Hiya’s patience grew thinner.

“That’s not how-!”

“Ma’am, if I may,” the soldier immediately interrupted. “We have an emergency armory here in the shelter. Perhaps that could help?”

As the engineer looked at him in disbelief, this one simply cleared his throat with a hint of embarrassment.

“Need I remind you I’m also Nexus Force,” Theta pressed a finger against her own chest while leaning forward, trying to appear imposing. ”Whether you like it or not, I’m going there too.”

Entering the building, the soldier leads Theta to the location of their armory, Meiko following inside soon after.

“I don’t know why I’m enabling this,” mutters an annoyed Hiya after a sigh.

“She’s got spirit,” Corvus chuckled before entering the building as well. “You got to give her that.”

“If that’s what you wanna call it, sir,” she murmurs. 

Much like the Sentinel guard said, at the end of the lot there stood the entrance to a maintenance room. Emptied of all its former equipment, it had become repurposed into a storage room for all sorts of basic weaponry.

Rifles, pistols, shotguns, as well as any and all ammunition these required.

Nothing overly fancy or complex, but not any less effective against the Stromling invaders.

“Do you even know how to use it?” Hiya crossed her arms as Theta examined the weapon racks in front of her, who simply turned to the Skyfolk slowly as if she had been insulted.

“I was literally made for an army of evil robots,” she blankly mouthed as she held a small sub machine gun. “Yes, I know how to use it.”

While the two of them bickered, Wane Corvus had eyed a pistol of his own as well.

“Just a loan, if you don’t mind” he mutters to the soldier who awkwardly stood by the group.

Following a few more moments, the group was ready to head out again.

Armed with effective Imaginite-powered weaponry and its respective ammo, the three head back to the exit once more, the Sentinel soldier escorting them as well.

“Keep everyone safe,” Hiya requested as the gates opened, with the soldier simply nodding in return. “We’ll be back soon when it’s safe again.”

With Hiya leading their small party, Theta and Corvus followed closely after her as they ran past a few of the remaining trails of black smoke left behind by the defeated Darklings.

Having confirmed they went out safely and with no other Stromling in the vicinity, the guard prepared to close the gates once again. It is in that moment, however, when in the blink of an eye and a flash of pink behind his back, a bat launched itself outside without so much as a warning.

“Hey, wait!” Exclaimed the soldier with no result, Meiko having made her way out into the skies already. “Be safe out there.”

Truth be told, not even Meiko herself knew why she decided to go out as well. But it’s dangerous out there, perhaps there is more she could do still.

Flying high above the buildings with an aerial view upon the streets, Meiko decided to scout around the area and see just what else remained out there. Breeder horses remained, as did their Darklings and a few soldiers cleaning out the stragglers.

She could see the trio heading to the location of the refugee camps. Darklings, Spiderlings, Hounds, various monsters stood in the way and its surroundings, but none of them stood out nearly as much as what Meiko saw further into the trees, at the edge of the camp.

Past the road that leads further into the mountainside, there she saw it, a monster unlike any of those already at the camp.

She needed to warn the others.

Descending at the speed of a dart, the Formling transformed just behind the trio further ahead of her.

“Wait!” Meiko exclaims.

With shock, the group that arrived at the refugee camp all turned around to face the spooked girl behind them.

“You again?” Theta starts. “How did you even-?”

“That’s not important right now,” Meiko insists as she tries to recover her breath. “There’s a giant monster coming!”

“What?” Theta is taken aback while Corvus simply observes the kid from under his hat’s brim. “What does that mean?”

“Giant?” Hiya steps forward. “What did it look like, did you see?”

Meiko nods in response, having regained air.

“It was… massive, like a whole house,” she opens her arms to simulate the creature’s size. “It looked like it was made of rock? Had claws and everything, and it was surrounded by clouds and lightning!”

Hiya ponders for a brief moment before her brow shoots up as her eyes widen.

“Clouds and lightning, I should’ve known!!” She loudly exclaims as she puts her weapon away and reaches for her cellphone. “I knew the roar from earlier was suspicious!”

While the engineer stares into her screen, an exasperated Theta simply shrugs as she glances around .

“Am I supposed to know these things or?”

“Give me a minute, I need to look at our database,” Hiya raises a hand as her eyes remain locked on her browsing. “It’s a Storm Colossus.”

“What’s that?” Meiko tilts her head slightly.

“It’s a swarm boss type Stromling, threat level nine,” Hiya finally turns to the others, a glare drawing in her face. “Means it’s the leader of the invasion.”

“You’re saying, we deal with the thing, the attacks will be over?” Corvus inquires.

“They’ll stop coming, yeah,” Hiya nods as she puts her phone away once more before turning back to the Formling. “But, you said it was as big as a house?”

“Yeah, it was,” the girl nods quickly. “No doubt.”

“That’s weird,” Hiya mutters as her brow furrows. “They aren’t normally that big. But maybe-”

At last, the roar of thunder was more powerful than ever.

The trees ahead crashed against one another, the sound of a raging storm broke through the night despite a complete lack of rain clouds high above in the sky.

Indeed, Meiko’s description was correct.

Hanging from a body made of rock and crystals enshrouded by a dark storm of purple around its being, sharp claws adorned the long, sectioned arms held together with lightning. Arms that dragged along the ground as if it were a massive chain, one that slowly connected its pieces back together into a single whole.

With a metallic roar fit for a walking tempest, the Storm Colossus brought with it the final stage of the Stromling raid.

The whole group could only hold their weapons tightly as they stared at the massive beast with dread. And yet, it is Hiya’s eyes who feared the most, for she truly knew.

“It’s an Alpha…”

“I still don’t think this is a good idea.”

The warm tones painted across the sky announced the setting of the sun, descending behind the many buildings towering at the streets upon which Theta Lennox and Doctor Albert Overbuild walked through.

“I’ve heard plenty of praise for this one,” the Doctor responded to the disgruntled Nindroid. “Got good will among the people too.”

“Sure, but what is it gonna do?” Theta shrugged before throwing her hands in the air. “If I thought of hiring one of these guys before, I would’ve done so already.”

“You don’t trust them, I imagine,” Albert affirmed as he raised an eyebrow.

A few cars passed by as a few of the stores by the road began to close their doors for the day.

“This isn’t about trust. Believe me, whatever they could find, I probably already did,” she continued with an aggressive tap of her finger against her chest.

Albert simply smirked.

“Besides our own systems.”

Shutting her eyes after a groan of annoyance, Theta simply looked away.

“Whatever,” she muttered. “We’d be better off searching on our own. I mean, you have your own resources, right?”

“Don’t get me wrong, this won’t stop us from looking ourselves as well,” Albert’s smirk disappeared as a gentler look faced the irritated hacker. “I’m not just handing off the search to someone else. But having extra eyes out there can’t be a bad thing, right?”

Before Theta could respond, the two suddenly stopped before a singular door upon the street’s wall, adorned by a lone light resting above it.

“I guess,” she finally resigned.

“And besides, I’ll pay for this out of my own pocket,” Albert continued as his hand met Theta’s shoulder in reassurance. “I promised you we’d find your mother, and I’ll give all I can to do it.”

As her expression slowly faded, the Nindroid couldn’t bring herself to face the Doctor.

“Alright, we can do it,” her voice lowered significantly. “I just don’t think it’ll do much.”

“Only one way to find out,” Albert finished, before the two crossed the door in front of them, one marked with the sigil of a crow.

Crossing the entrance and into the spacious office within, the two saw the gloomy atmosphere of the place, illuminated by the neon colors seeping through the blinders to the side.

Maps hung from the walls, as well as pictures and articles of all sorts, newspapers too.

And at the end of the room, a large desk with papers on top, as well as the thin figure of a man sitting behind it, one wearing a black trenchcoat and wide brimmed hat.

“Good evening,” Albert started. “You must be Mr. Corvus?”

Raising his head to see the two in front, the lights revealed the face of the skeletal detective Wane Corvus.

“And to what do I owe the pleasure of having the leader of the Nexus Force in my office?” Corvus inquired with a gesture on his hand as he leaned back in his seat.

Theta and Albert exchanged a brief glance.

“I guess you know me as well,” the latter muttered.

“Doesn’t take a detective to know of you, Doctor. Your people, your exploits.”

“Guess I’m not used to it,” Albert simply gazed away.

Peering from under his hat, Corvus’ eyes turned to the Nindroid besides the Assembly leader, alongside the tension visible upon her shoulders.

“Still, my question remains unanswered,” the detective’s hands met together.

The Doctor turned to Theta with a nod, who simply let out a brief, reluctant sigh.

“I’m looking for my mother,” her voice finally muttered. “She disappeared in the Merge.”

“The usual story,” Corvus’ gaze lowered in reaction, followed by a short silence. “What’s your name, kid?”

“Theta. Theta Lennox,” she crossed her arms. “My mother’s name-”

“Edith Lennox.”

Her eyes widened in shock, staring at the detective whose face was obscured by his crow-adorned hat. Doctor Overbuild not any less impressed, as his brow shot up as well.

“How did you-?” She stopped before even finishing the sentence.

“Quality Assurance Engineer at Borg Industries,” Corvus continued as he pulled a folder from a compartment under his desk. “Widowed middle-aged woman, and another one of those lost in the original Merge.”

After a few blinks, a scowl formed in Theta’s face as she fixed her sight on the folder now resting upon the desk.

“I’ve investigated victims of that day, for previous jobs,” the detective’s voice lowered. “Doctor Lennox was among them, one of many.”

Opening the folder, Corvus pulled a piece of paper, various writings on it describing a few of the disappeared. Among them were pictures as well, from which he singled out one taken from Borg Industries’ employee records.

Ashen brown hair sporting a graying streak, alongside a serene smile drawn upon her face. A lump formed in Theta’s throat as she saw the picture. There’s no doubt about it, this is her mother.

Edith Lennox, 47 years old. The label written under.

“So do you know anything about her?” Theta took a step forward, the concern in her face becoming increasingly harder to hide.

“Nothing concrete,” Corvus shook his head slowly. “What little I’ve picked up so far hasn’t linked her to my former cases.”

Theta’s shoulders sank as she glanced away with a hint of frustration.

“That is not to say we’re out of options,” Corvus added as he returned the picture to its folder.

Theta’s face slowly moved to face him once more, while Albert’s curiosity was also piqued.

“What do you mean?” She asked.

Standing up from his seat, Corvus turned around to face the large map on the wall behind him.

“The Merge was chaotic, but not without patterns of its own, and I’m not speaking about nature alone,” Corvus peered back from his shoulder. “There are all sorts of roads where those who were lost often find themselves in, and in my experience, all past jobs eventually lead me to one of them.”

“You’re saying she’s in one of those… roads, or whatever?” Theta shrugged.

“I can tell you something,” the Skulkin continued. “Despite what the Merge led others to believe, no one out there disappeared into nothingness.”

“Then how come no one has any information about her?” Theta’s voice betrayed irritation. “Any log, database, system, nothing on my mom.”

“Sometimes the path is hidden,” Corvus added, slowly returning to his desk. “These systems you’re looking at? They will not lead you to these roads. Wherever your mother is, she’s acting. Especially if she’s any resourceful?”

After her eyes drifted away, Theta simply responded with a brief nod.

“Then that is all you need,” the detective sat down in his chair once more. “Resourceful people manage to find these roads even in chaos, all that is left is to find the road ourselves, not look at the destinations.”

As Theta faced the detective, even across his skeletal features there appeared some sort of a smile under his hat.

“You gonna do it then?” She simply inquired.

“As I’ve done with many others before,” Corvus responded with a nod.

Happiness became visible in Doctor Overbuild’s face, with no intent to hide it. Even Theta’s posture seemed to have released some of her previous tension.

In her own silent way, she felt grateful.

“That’s wonderful news,” Albert stepped forward. “I will pay anything you require, in advance as well.”

Corvus could simply let out a brief chuckle.

“I expected no less from a man of your repute, Doctor.”

As Albert pulled a wallet from under his white coat prepared to come to a deal with the detective, Theta turned to the side to face the window beside her.

Beyond the blinders, she could see the city on the outside, less cars passing by than moments before coming inside.

It seemed like a peaceful evening out there… But from the corner of her eye, Theta’s attention was taken. Turning to face whatever she saw more closely, it completely disappeared by now.

What was that? Far too blurry to make out something, it almost looked like fog, or a mist of some sort.

And without a doubt, a chill could be felt as it passed by.

“Very well, hopefully this covers the costs?” Albert smiled as he put his wallet away.

“That’ll do plenty, Doctor,” Corvus nodded with gratitude. “I’ll begin the search without delay. Whenever I find anything, you will hear from me.”

“We’ll be in contact then. Thank you very much,” Albert finished as he began to head towards the exit.

Caught in the distraction, Theta continued to stare at the outside for a brief moment before she turned to the detective, who simply tipped his hat to her.

After a barely visible nod, Theta turned away and accompanied the Doctor already at the door.

“There you go,” Albert smiled as he closed the door behind him and the Nindroid. “That should help us cover some more terrain, right?”

But she was still distracted by whatever she saw.

“Is something wrong?” The Doctor asked as a frown crossed his face.

A short few seconds passed by with Theta staring at the street, but in the end, she saw no soul nor sound at all. Perhaps that’s all it was, nothing.

“No, just thought I saw something,” she slowly turned to the Doctor once more.

As he adjusted his glasses, Doctor Overbuild fixed his gaze on the very same street, figure out whatever it is that she noticed.

“Anyways,” Theta broke the silence after a moment. “You really look convinced this detective is gonna work, but what else? What are we doing?”

Blinking a few times, Albert turned back to Theta as the two began to walk away from the place.

“I actually have a little research of my own, regarding that,” he started as a smile formed once more. “Would you like to come to the refugee camps with me? That’s where I have it worked on.”

Crossing her arms, Theta glanced at nowhere as she thought.

“Not like I have anything better to do, I guess.”

The two members of the Nexus Force walked away together across the street, both of them visible from the office’s window, where Corvus stood to see them go.

Without a doubt, he noticed the young Nindroid staring out the window with clear intent.

Walking back to his desk, from a drawer in the back he pulled out a tablet of sorts that – once turned on – revealed the outside of his office. The feedback of a camera system installed in the area around.

With a short rewind, Corvus went back to the moment he and the Doctor came to a deal. Sure enough, there he saw it; a black and purple smoke, flying across in the blink of an eye as it headed somewhere in particular.

Perhaps it’s another lead…

The stars slowly returned to the skies as their shine peeked through the clouds of the coming nightfall, the sun now fully set upon the refugee camps of the Crossroads.

Bearing the banner of the Nexus Force’s spark, it is them who set up the many tents and refuges for the people who were lost after the cataclysmic Merge. With dedicated places for food, medical attention, and even recreational activities, this is a source of hope for many of its victims.

“It’s impressive, isn’t it?”

Doctor Overbuild set his gaze upon the tents and all the people visible in the area, pride adorning the bright expression of his face.

“What?” Theta was taken off guard, distracted by the sights.

The Doctor simply smiled.

“This place, these people. We’ve done many things with the Nexus Force, but these camps? The promise of a future in a brand new world? It makes me really proud.”

Theta turned to see them, those who lost their homes, their families, everything.

He was right.

Upon observing them, she saw their smiles, heard their chatter, caught the scent of warm food shared by both workers of the Nexus Force and other various volunteers. 

“You’ll have that future as well.”

Noticing the Doctor’s hand resting upon her shoulder, Theta couldn’t bear to let him see the frown forming on her face.

“Right,” she muttered.

“Either way, my protégé is further ahead,” Albert continued as the two walked further. “So I had her do some research on the patterns regarding where some of our refugees ended up after the Merge. It’ll help us narrow down options on where we might have clues to find your mother.”

As they spoke, the tents started to diminish as they slowly approached the outskirts of the camp, evident from the sight of fewer people than before, deeper from where they came.

“As soon as Team Venomhound returns from their hunting mission, I’ll have them survey the area based on the results we get,” he finished with a nod.

“Who’s Team Venomhound,” blankly asked the Nindroid.

“They’re, uhm, the guys who intercepted you,” an awkward smile formed on the Doctor’s mouth.

“Oh, those guys.”

“I know you got off on the wrong foot,” he adjusted his glasses as he faced the Nindroid. “But they’re some of my most trusted teams.”

A small group of Nexus Force members passed by the two as they carried various bags of food, including a variety of fruits and vegetables, meat as well.

“So they don’t usually jump you in an alleyway,” Theta crossed her arms.

Albert simply chuckled.

“Normally we have them deal with the creatures of the Merge, not… people,” he glanced away in thought. “We’re not the police, we’re just here to protect others, help them.”

“So why did you send them after me?” She asked as she raised an eyebrow.

“You understand a hacker in our systems is a bit of a… sensitive matter,” Albert started as he greeted a small group of the refugees with a nod. “And I didn’t want you simply locked up, I figured there was another way. Happy to know there was.”

Theta’s eyes briefly met with the Doctor’s own, the shine in them clearly visible. His words are sincere, genuine happiness in his expression.

She couldn’t bear to face it.

“Well, I guess I’m glad you didn’t just call the cops on me,” she muttered as her voice lowered.

“We’re in this together,” Albert finally added. “The Merge brought with it many creatures from all over, threats to the new world. That is our mission, for the people’s sake. For everyone.”

Finally, the two had made it to the very edge of the refugee camps. A big area filled with crates and bags of all kinds and sizes, a forklift stationed nearby as well.

In particular, there was a dedicated area covered by a wide tarp at the corner, one that housed several devices and building equipment, as well as various unfinished machines. Upon further inspection it became clear this is a makeshift workshop.

Notably, a brunette woman wearing a golden headscarf visibly worked on some sort of spherical gadget on a table covered with her tools

“Albert! I’m so glad you’re here,” the woman excitedly left her screwdriver as she ran towards the two “I made further progress on the defense drones!”

“You did already?” The Doctor smiled as he shared the young engineer’s excitement.

“Yes! The alternating attack modules work smoothly,” she continued as her hands met together with joy. “Now I just need to polish the shielding protocol and they should be fully prepared!”

“That’s great news Hiya! I can see you’ve been busy.”

In her excitement, Hiya Lie nearly forgot to even address the Nindroid standing beside her mentor. As the eyes behind her round glasses turned to face her, a kind smile crossed her expression.

“Oh, you must be Theta!”

“‘Sup,” she gestured with her head.

“This is Hiya,” Albert turned to Theta as he presented his apprentice with an open palm. “She’s my protégé.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

Hiya extended her arm with the offer of a hand shake, although the crossed-arms Nindroid did not respond.

“Anyways,” Hiya awkwardly continued as she cleared her throat, her hands behind her back as she turned to the Doctor. “You’re here for the Mergequake patterns then?”

“Yes we are,” he confirmed with a nod. “I know it was a bit short notice, but anything at all you might’ve collected is great.”

“It’s not everything yet, but I did find a few common spots,” Hiya explained as she pulled a cellphone from her pants’ pocket. “I’ll send them to you real quick.”

With Doctor Overbuild pulling a tablet from his own bag in order to exchange files, Theta simply observed her surroundings. The various crates of supplies, the machines and blueprints worked on by Hiya, the banner of the Nexus Force hanging from a lamp post nearby.

But she was quickly interrupted by an ever so brief familiar sight.

“There we go,” Albert put his tablet away. “Thank you Hiya, we’ll have to go through these soon.”

“Of course!” She exclaimed. “I’ll keep working on it some more, keep you updated.”

But before the Doctor could continue, he noticed the hacker’s fixed gaze once again.

“Theta? What is it?” His voice grew concerned, far more than at Wane Corvus’ office.

“There it was again,” she quietly pointed at a nearby manhole. “That… smoke.”

“Smoke?” Albert muttered as his eyes narrowed.

No smoke or fog became visible at the time, but sure enough, the ambiance wasn’t quite the same as it was mere moments ago. Even the very air shivered.

“Did it just…get colder?” Hiya asked as her breath became visible. “Is it just me?

There are no questions about it anymore.

“It’s not just you,” Albert’s hands formed into fists as tension overcame him.

In the very short time she’s known him, Theta had not seen the Doctor act in such a way. He’s been kind and inviting at all moments, sharing it with all. But now? There appeared a unique look of determination in his eyes.

And yet, fear appeared in him as well.

“Hiya, I need you to get everyone to the shelter at Raines Street,” Albert requested without leaving the manhole out of sight. “Don’t get out until it’s over.”

Only a short few seconds passed before the smoke revealed itself. Without a semblance of a doubt, it seeped from underneath the manhole as it slowly grew in size.

“But- I can’t!” Hiya insisted as worry took over her as well. “Albert, I can’t just leave you here and-”

“Now!” He immediately interrupted.

Prepared already to respond, Hiya chose not to as instead she simply gave a nod and ran back into the refugee camps proper.

“I need you to go with her, Theta.”

Looking at Hiya and then back at the Doctor, Theta stared as her face betrayed utter confusion.

“Why, what’s going on?”

As Doctor Overbuild pulled his right sleeve back, a prosthetic wrist underneath visibly revealed itself, alongside a small screen with a few buttons installed. After pressing a certain combination of these, the backpack hanging behind him revealed the glowing outline of two long clawed arms, with these beginning to take form after a brief moment announced by the shine of a blue and white light.

Before long, the mechanical arms became fully physical

“What I hoped not to drag you into,” he admitted.

Indeed, they had arrived.

The manhole erupted as from within the growl of a feral creature broke the silence. Long claws emerged from gaunt arms, connected to the small body of a ghoulish creature of dark purple flesh and fog, its shrieks utterly shattering.

She’s never seen anything more gruesome.

But before this monster managed to pounce at the two, one of Albert’s arms had already shot a blast of blue energy at the creature, rupturing into a burst of black smoke.

“Go!”

She had a million questions, none of this made any sense. But she had nothing else to do…

Reluctantly, Theta ran away in whatever direction she saw the Skyfolk engineer head into.

Heading into the camp as she attempted to look for Albert’s protégé, she could see Nexus Force soldiers running to escort the many refugees, others carrying various emergency supplies and weaponry.

As worry and fear overcame the people of the camps, a thundering voice resounded through a megaphone across the place.

Attention, every resident of the camps please step outside. This is an emergency evacuation, this is not a drill. Please follow the camp guards and do not stay far under any circumstances.

They clearly prepared for this.

After a few moments – much to Theta’s fortune – she finally found Hiya Lie.

“Hey! You!” Theta called out.

The engineer struggled to scramble around a crate as she looked for something within. It took a few moments before she noticed the Nindroid approaching her.

“Oh, you’re here too!” Hiya exclaimed as soon as she turned around her back.

Refugees could be seen led by soldiers of the Force away from Doctor Overbuild’s conflict as the megaphone’s voice continued issuing alarm to all in the area.

“Yeah, can you tell me what in the world is going on?” A scowl formed on Theta’s face.

Hiya’s expression furrowed as she continued to rummage in the crate.

“Stromlings.”

That only made more questions.

“Strom- What?”

After a moment, Hiya finally pulled out some device from inside the crate. Judging by the shape, it appeared to be some sort of energy core.

“They’re beings corrupted by the Maelstrom,” Hiya started as she began to pull other pieces out. “It’s what the Force fought back then. Albert feared they’d make it here…”

Blasts of energy could be heard in the background, the very same ones shot by Doctor Overbuild’s arms.

“I- I don’t understand what’s going on,” Theta muttered.

“I can explain more later,” Hiya exclaimed as she began to connect the various pieces together into a singular device. “Right now you need to get away. The shelter is not far from here, the soldiers can escort you there along with the other refugees.”

Theta blinked in confusion.

“I thought he told you to hide too, are you not coming or what?”

“I know what he said,” she continued. “But I am not gonna stand around in that shelter and do nothing while the Doctor is out there on his own!”

After installing the energy core on the back of her construction, the blue glow that appeared promptly after revealed this machine as an energy rifle of sorts, one of Hiya’s own designs, judging by its similarities to the gadgets at the workshop.

“Team Venomhound isn’t here, and the soldiers will need to protect everyone from the camps,” Hiya added as she pressed a few buttons on her wrist device. “I’m gonna help him, whether he likes it or not.”

“You’re crazy if you think I’m just gonna stand around without figuring out what’s going on here!” Theta threw her arms out.

“Stromlings are way too dangerous! If you stay around them you might-”

But the loud crash of thunder interrupted her.

The two women turned to the source immediately. This was not the sound of Albert Overbuild’s fight, nor did it come from the same direction.

“What was that?” Theta simply questioned, her voice slightly lower.

The small clawed creatures continued to make their attempt to overwhelm the leader of the Nexus Force, one after the other shot down by the Doctor’s own weaponry and experience, none would be able to breach through. But he too could hear it, the crash of thunder.

And a roar that pierced the very city.

The roar of a true monster.

What started as concern in Albert’s eyes became utter terror. The small Darklings alone were no threat to him, but that roar? This is no mere skirmish.

Theta and Hiya remained frozen in their spot, the two continuing to stare in the direction of the roar as the latter held a tighter grip on her weapon.

But the tension shattered in that very second.

Breaking through the crates around them, a new creature burst into the scene. This was no small critter like those from the manhole. This is a large mass of darkened ooze, with eyes of all sizes carried by the legs of a mutated, giant spider.

Hiya aimed at this beast as it hissed at the two, but before long, a second one made its appearance from a different direction.

And all the same, a third soon joined as well.

Shots from the soldiers could be heard in the distance as they too began to fight Stromlings of their own, all while Overbuild’s own fight continued.

They were all over…

The growls of the giant spiderlings matched only the squeals of that swarm of creatures from the manhole, as well as the guttural shrieks of various other Stromlings heard into the background. So many monstrous howls and wails.

But none as ear-piercing as the thunderous roar that made itself known once more.

No doubt about it now.

The invasion has started.

With arms crossed, Jhane Laurence of Team Venomhound turned around to face the leader of the Nexus Force standing by the entrance of the tent.

“There you are,” she replied as she stood back up, reaching into the bag hanging from her shoulder. “Yeah, something important happened.”

“I imagined so, with all the secrecy,” he continued with a frown and crossed arms. “Did you find out anything about the Stromlings here?”

From the bag, Jhane pulled out a medium-sized tablet, Nexus Force equipment.

“Wherever they are, they’ve not made any moves yet,” she shook her head in denial. “But this isn’t about them, there’s a new issue around.”

“Something else?” The worry in Albert’s voice grew, along with the visibility of his stress. “We’ve got enough with our threat outside on our doorstep, you’re saying there’s another one?”

A brief chuckle simply escaped Jhane as she held her tablet close.

“Not outside, we’re dealing inside. Look.”

The tablet’s contents revealed a black screen filled with all sorts of words and numbers, coordinates, names, anything found within their local database.

“Our logs,” Albert confirmed after a brief glance.

“See this here,” Jhane pointed at a particular line on the screen. “Unauthorized access into the database. Someone, somehow got in.”

“What?” Albert’s voice grew alarmed as his brow shot up in shock. “You’re certain of this?”

“I’ve looked at this plenty of times, it definitely happened,” Jhane continued as she held the tablet close. “The reason I wanted to tell you here is because I didn’t wanna risk this leaking out.”

Opposite to that of the Doctor, Jhane’s expression was dead serious. Not uncommon for her in the slightest, although she too shared the very same concerns as Albert underneath her eyes.

“In and out, thanks to our defenses. Whoever this is, they shouldn’t have been alerted,” she quietly added.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Albert began to walk aimlessly around the tent, glancing to the outside through the plastic window. There was an air of serenity out there in these people, safety.

They didn’t know any better.

“So we have a hacker,” Albert finally added after a sigh. “Now, of all times.”

Turning her gaze back to the tablet after taking a seat again, Jhane peered upon messages shared between her and her teammates. For the last couple weeks, they’ve been hard at work in identifying the whereabouts of the terrible creatures that still haunt them to this very day.

No signs of them yet.

The last message received.

“I figure I don’t need to tell you we can’t fight both Stromlings and a hacker in our systems at the same time,” Jhane finally added as she peered at Albert from above her red shades.

“Not at all,” determination lit up in Albert’s eyes as he turned to face Jhane once more. “We need to deal with this fast, before our old friends make a move.”

“Before you ask, there wasn't any damage,” Jhane added as the tablet was laid above the table in front of her. “I set up the network to have plenty of defense in case anything like this happened. Our new friend was only here for a few moments.”

“Just a brief intrusion, then.”

“Yeah, but they will try again, and it’s only a matter of time before they can fully figure it out unless we do something.”

“But for what?” The Doctor took a few steps forward. “What do we know about this?”

“I tracked down the source, but it led over here,” Jhane reached for the tablet once again as she searched for a map of their general area. “An access point, nicely hidden.”

From a top view, the map displayed all the several buildings of the area, as well as the many tents set up by the Nexus Force. Around it were the completely unassuming streets of the Crossroads, commonly brimming with the busy people of the city.

“An alleyway,” Albert quietly noted. “I guess that figures. And the device?”

“Untraceable,” Jhane shook her head. “I only got a lead on the access point, but it was way too brief that we wouldn’t have gotten enough time to react. Whoever it was, this ain’t their first rodeo. They know what they’re doing.”

Eyes narrowed as thoughts began to cross the Doctor’s mind, himself rubbing his chin in the process.

“Do we have enemies here?” He added following a brief moment. “What did they access? If we can figure out what they were trying to do, then maybe…”

“Here,” Jhane simply replied as she held the tablet in front of the Doctor.

The expression in Albert’s mind changed immediately as he leaned down to look carefully at the screen. Unsure of what to think, but the feeling was concern no longer.

He was… bewildered.

“And it was only this?”

Jhane simply nodded in confirmation.

Standing straight once more, Albert glanced yet again at the people of the camps visible outside. Those who were lost, those who now attempt to gain a new place in this new world.

Those who were found.

“The hacker, you said they weren’t alerted yet?” He asked quietly as his eyes remained fixed on the window.

“Shouldn’t be,” Jhane started as her tablet promptly returned to the bag upon her shoulder. “I can tinker around with the systems, make it a bit harder to crack. They might get suspicious though, realize we’re aware of them.”

But a brief silence took over the place as Doctor Overbuild was absorbed in thoughts once more.

“You know what? Don’t do that,” he eventually added.

“What?” Jhane faced him in utter shock. “Doctor, respectfully, are you nuts?”

But a mere, faint smile simply crossed Albert’s face.

“Maybe I am. But don’t worry, I think I have an idea.”

Perhaps he was crazy.

Anyone who’d hear this plan would certainly think so, think of it as nothing but senseless ramblings at best. But he’s the leader of the Nexus Force for a reason. Jhane would know. Many people did.

And they will follow whatever plan he may have in mind.

Came the next night. Unassuming as any other, nothing remarkable, nothing breaking the routine.

The people walking, sharing, chatting. The usual agents passing by, the usual deliveries coming, and the usual silence regarding the looming threat of the remnants of the Maelstrom.

That is of course, until a brand new access was attempted.

Within the systems of the Nexus Force stationed at the Crossroads, there sat Doctor Overbuild and Jhane Laurence yet again, both staring at a laptop showcasing their logs once more. It came to no surprise, that upon looking further into the breach, the lead was not the same alleyway as that of last night.

The hacker had attempted to break in from a new location. Just like last time, they continue to remain hidden and anonymous, unable to be located.

It is with a nod from the Doctor, however, that he signals the plan is developing accordingly.

The night after this new breach was quiet, no activity anywhere. But indeed, the hacker would not remain still. A brand new attempt was made come the following moonrise.

And again three days after this.

And again the coming night.

And once more, two sunsets later.

Entering through the tent upon the following coming of the night, Albert was greeted by Jhane once more as she stared at the laptop resting upon the place’s small table.

This was the time.

“Has our friend made a move yet?” Asked the Doctor after a brief nod.

“Not yet, but we’re ready” Jhane confirmed as she acknowledged Albert with a gesture of her head. “They might’ve caught on… Are you sure your plan’s gonna work?

Taking a seat beside the leader of Team Venomhound, a faint smile crossed the Doctor.

“I can’t say I am,” he calmly added. “But I’ve got some hope”

All Jhane could do was chuckle.

“You’re the boss.”

All past nights this week saw the same events happen, with the only difference being all breaches into the systems coming from a completely different location in the surroundings. Beyond that, the routine remained unbroken for the next several moments.

Yet sure enough, the same eventually followed.

“There!” Exclaimed Jhane. “We’ve got activity!”

True enough, the laptop’s screen displayed the logs of the Nexus Force and the sudden attempt to access them. But there was no entry yet.

“Not yet,” Albert muttered as he stared closely at the screen together with Jhane.

The silence was deafening, tension flew in the air as the lines upon the screen remained the same for the next moments, the Doctor’s eyes locked upon them.

But the waiting came to a stop, when the sudden appearance of a new line broke the moment. The confirmation of a successful entry point into the systems.

And along with it, coordinates.

“That’s our cue,” the Doctor smiled as he brought two fingers to his right ear. “Coremh, Lena, you can move in.”

It wasn’t terribly far from the camp, where an alleyway peeked at the streets of the Crossroads to the side. People could be seen walking under the moonlit roads and neon signs, the occasional vehicle passing by as well.

The alleyway – on the other hand – was dark, somewhat damp, and hardly clean. Not the usual place one would pick to hang around.

Except for the figure sitting above a dumpster.

With a laptop sitting above their legs and the brightness of its screen set to the very minimum, no features could be discerned out of the figure beyond the bright red pupils that pierced the darkness of the spot.

It was these oddly unnatural pupils that revealed the determination within their eyes, as well as the reflection of the screen’s contents set upon them; the logs of the Nexus Force.

The intruder pressed the keys of their computer with a notable aggression, but none of it senseless. Precise, clear intent went into one and every keystroke, even at the incredible speed they displayed.

But they were promptly interrupted by the loud thump of a large figure falling from way above.

“Freeze,” coldly demanded the inhuman silhouette of rock that pulsated in a faint green glow as a large rifle revealed itself from his back

Shutting the laptop off in the blink of an eye, the hacker stood back up in alarm, very slowly backing away from the giant of a man that aimed his bulky weapon at them. Analyzing him as well as the lighting of the place allowed, it was clear this was a member of the Nexus Force’s Sentinel faction.

“I wouldn’t if I were you.”

A second voice came from behind the hacker, on the other end of the alleyway. The figure of a person in a large sweatshirt upon its removal soon revealed itself to be that of a slender woman of red hair covered in a gray beanie hat.

These are General Coremh and Lena Malakoff of Team Venomhound.

“Unless of course, you think it’d be a good idea to fight my friend over there,” she continued as a white and orange handgun now aimed at the cornered hacker.

Indeed, they were completely trapped. Glancing back and forth between the two agents of the Force, there was nowhere to go. How did this even happen?

“You’re surrounded,” Coremh threatened as his sight was locked upon their intruder. “I suggest you put down the computer and surrender.”

“I’d do what he says,” Lena smirked. “Wouldn’t wanna deal with a Mars vet, yeah?”

The hacker wasn’t expecting this. By all accounts there wasn’t a chance they’d be able to catch on in time. And this is by no means the position for a fight in the slightest.

The only option was to surrender indeed.

Lowering the computer slowly, the hacker raised their hands helplessly. It'd be stupid to challenge these two like this, after all…

“Doctor, we’ve got our target,” muttered Coremh while Lena approached the hacker, holding their hands behind their back.

“Perfect,” Albert’s voice spoke through their comms channel. “Bring them over for the next phase. Well done.”

The moon high upon the skies became witness to the trip taken by the Venomhound agents and their new friend, driving off to a nearby building a few blocks away. By the looks of it, it seemed to be some sort of office, one bearing the banner of the Nexus Force above.

The presence of the Force at the Crossroads isn’t fully settled quite yet, unlike in places such as Nexus City or the rebuilt New Zorillo. With that said, Doctor Overbuild has managed to secure a few rentals to act as various headquarters, barracks, among other uses.

And it was this place where the hacker was held in, until the Doctor’s arrival.

Leaning against the door at the entrance, Jhane Laurence greeted him with a nod as the two entered the building.

“So how’s our guest doing?” Inquired Albert as they walked across the hallway.

“Well she’s refused to talk at all,” Jhane started as she adjusted her shades. “But she hasn’t tried to do anything stupid either. She’s just been sitting there doing nothing. Didn’t even want to eat.”

“I guess that makes sense,” added the Doctor as they stopped before a closed door. “You’re free to go, I’ll take it from here.”

With a brief nod, Jhane walked out of the scene as Doctor Overbuild let out a sigh before finally entering the room in front of him.

Not much was inside. A few chairs, a table with a bowl of soup on top, already cold. But most notably, was the woman sitting by the empty desk at the end of the office.

Thanks to the lighting of the place, her appearance was now more than clear. Black metal instead of skin, the red glare of her cybernetic eyes, and the synthetic short hair upon which rested a headset of matching colors.

Their hacker was no human, it was an android, or a “Nindroid”, as they are called. Generation one.

Crossed arms upon her chair, she was clearly not amused.

“So,” Albert smiled nonchalantly. “I’m sure you must be wondering why you’re here.”

The hacker made no effort to even look at the man.

“I was told you didn’t eat the food we brought for you?” Albert continued as he took a seat on the opposite side of the desk. ”I wasn’t sure what you liked, so if there’s anything else we can get you?”

With a roll of her eyes, the Nindroid simply groaned in annoyance.

“Are you trying to mock me or what?”

“Not at all,” Albert shook his head gently. “You’re very intelligent, able to crack our systems like this, your untraceable computer, going to different places to try again as well. But I noticed your pattern.”

The hacker simply scowled away, making an effort not to meet the man’s eyes.

“You kept trying at different alleyways, didn’t you?” The Doctor continued. “Dark, easy to hide, no witnesses. The perfect crime.”

“You don’t know anything,” the hacker huffed.

“There’s many things I don’t know, you’re right,” Albert nodded as his gaze drifted away. “But there is something I do know. You were running out of spots, weren’t you?”

The Nindroid simply reacted with a faint grunt.

“All the previous spots shared the same similarities with each other,” Albert’s hands met together as he spoke. “They were all the alleyways surrounding our refugee camp. Not directly, obviously, but just close enough to have access into our network.”

The hacker’s grip seemed more tense, attempting to avert her gaze as much as she could, shrinking into her seat ever so slightly.

“But that was all of them,” the Doctor’s eyes turned to the Nindroid once more. “Any further attempts, you would’ve either needed to repeat spots, go somewhere far more crowded, or even further away, making access more difficult. We just had to prepare over at your final alleyway.”

“Congrats, I guess,” her deadpanned voice responded after a brief moment of silence. “How clever.”

A chuckle couldn’t help but come out of the Doctor in the moment.

“When we first noticed your… intrusion, I figured out this plan,” he explained. “Get to meet you properly, and all.”

The hacker’s eyes briefly turned to the Doctor before drifting away soon after once again.

“I’m seriously impressed, no one has managed to hack into our systems before,” Albert leaned slightly closer as he spoke, eyes widened. “At first I was alarmed, but then I noticed something. What you accessed.”

Her eyes simply narrowed as they finally met with Albert’s own.

“You looked at our records of missing people, and only that.”

“Does it matter?” She reluctantly responded.

“It does. Immensely,” the Doctor’s voice grew serious as his smile faded. “You’re looking for someone.”

“Well surprise, it’s the Crossroads,” she threw her arms in frustration as her gaze drifted away. “Everyone’s looking for someone. Big deal.”

“Very true. It’s a scary world out there, isn’t it?” Albert leaned back on his chair. “Many people don’t know what to do, how to handle it. That’s why we try our best to help everyone. And yet, you did not only that, you managed what I thought was impossible.”

“Are you trying to say something or what?” The Nindroid’s voice grew impatient.

“I’m trying to say you’re not in trouble.”

As her brow shot up, the Nindroid fully turned to the Doctor in shock,

“I- What?” Disbelief took over the anger of her voice.

A mere frown was all that was drawn in Doctor Overbuild’s face.

“Who is it you’re looking for?”

Stumbling upon her words, many feelings crossed the Nindroid’s mind. Anger, confusion, sadness… A brief moment passed before she got herself to finally answer.

“My mother,” her tone seemed tired as her gaze dropped to the floor.

“You went through all this, hacked into Nexus Force systems just for a chance of finding your mother,” leaning closer to her once again, Albert’s voice seemed calmer than ever.

“I don’t know why that’s important,” she responded with a frustrated groan.

Turning to the side, Albert peered upon the cold bowl of soup before turning back to the girl in front of him. The anger of her stance was gone, even if the expression of her face very much attempted to mask this fact.

“What’s your name?” He simply asked.

A faint sigh escaped the girl. Slowly, she decided to fully face the Doctor’s expression of concern. She could see it, it was genuine.

“Theta,” she finally answered.

“Theta. I’d like to help you personally.”

“You,” she skeptically remarked. “The great leader of the Nexus Force. Help someone like me.”

For the first time in the last few minutes, Albert’s gentle smile finally returned.

“I suppose you know of our… achievements,” he added as he glanced at a banner of the Nexus Force hanging above the entrance. “But believe me, what I do, it’s for the people, for everyone. No one is too small to get our help, no one is beneath us.”

These words seemingly resonated with Theta, her eyes perking up in the moment, despite her best efforts to hide it.

But hide it she did.

“Alright, then what’s your great idea?” Theta shrugged.

The Doctor paused before a wide smile crossed his face.

“I would like you to be with us.”

“You- what?” Theta spoke with utter shock. “What are you even-?”

“I mean it,” he confirmed with a nod. “I want you to join the Nexus Force.”

“Join-? Okay, now you’re just messing with me,” Theta shook her head as she leaned back against her seat. “You want me to join you.”

“Like I said before, no one’s managed to hack us before at all. Against all odds, you managed to make your way inside, pass through all our defenses repeatedly. You have skills like no other I’ve ever even seen.”

Theta attempted to collect her thoughts for a moment, finding herself at a loss for words.

“You’re crazy,” was all she could think of.

“Maybe I am,” he happily responded. “But what I do know is that you aren’t, nor are you evil. You’re doing this for your mother.”

“What did you expect?” Theta questioned as she leaned forward with frustration. “Nobody else cares.”

Once more, the Doctor’s smile was taken over by a light frown. Not one of sadness, but of understanding.

“I care,” he confirmed. “How’s this for an offer? If you join us, I’ll allow you full access into our systems so that you can find your mother without interruptions, and you can help us out with all our systems around the Crossroads. Further improvements that’ll let us assist the people even better. And better defenses too.”

It was increasingly difficult for Theta to hide behind a mask of anger. Now, more than ever before, she was utterly confused. How is any of this even real?

“Please do know, even if you refuse, we will look tirelessly either way,” Albert finally concluded with a slow nod.

All Theta could do now was merely look away yet again. 

“You’ll help me find my mom, then,” her voice became the quietest it’s been in this whole night.

“You have my word.”

“And you’ll really give me access to your systems,” remarked Theta with a squint on her eyes. “Really.”

“Some people would call me a fool for trusting a stranger with them,” the Doctor chuckled. “But I think I’m willing to take that risk, if there’s a chance to help people.”

Theta shut her eyes in an attempt to process everything that’s happened tonight. She’s heard of Doctor Albert Overbuild before, she knew of his exploits before, all that he and the Nexus Force did. But an offer like this? You’d need to be insane to do something like this.

Or maybe it was she who was going insane.

Nevertheless, she opened her eyes again.

“Fine,” she finally answered. “But once we find her, I’m gone.”

Doctor Overbuild nodded in response.

“That’s reasonable to me.”