Walking side by side together, both felt the growing uneasy sensation creeping up their spines as they approached Unity's location. The air seems to thicken, heavy with anticipation and dread.
Danny's grip on the radio tightens, a wary face plastered all over him as his own heart pounds within his own chest, a frantic rhythm that echoes the pounding of his feet against the floor.
Neither were sure what the monster was planning, but they agreed that nothing good would come out of it once they reached their destination.
The two young men didn't say any word to each other, seeing it as a waste of time and a reminder that they couldn't afford to be distracted from the task at hand. Their minds were racing with thoughts of what could happen, worst-case scenarios playing out in vivid detail.
Despite the fear and uncertainty, a burning determination to save Unity drives them forward, a shared resolve that binds them together in this desperate mission in doing what is just instead of leaving it as a problem.
Doctor Hansel is a man who puts his priority on duty and helping others; it is what defined him after becoming not just a medical doctor but also a proud, confident humanitarian who wishes to help those who are unfortunate.
His calm demeanor belies the intensity of his focus, a laser-like concentration that misses nothing as he scans their surroundings for any sign of danger with eyes darting back and forth, taking in every shadow and every creak of the old building, his mind working overtime to anticipate the Renegade's next move.
On the other hand, Danny is still unsure of himself as a person who simply wants to save a complete stranger, even though he still possesses some kindness left in him. He found it hard to trust anyone after learning how dangerous this world is.
Death is at every corner of their very lives, and one wrong move could immediately end them without second chance. However, he is selfishly doing this for the benefit of not wanting to feel guilt in this conflicting nightmare he is currently in.
After a while of walking in silence, Hansel suddenly raised and used his right arm to block Danny's path in moving forward as the two stopped in their tracks, "its inside," he answered dreadfully, eyes dangerously narrowed with anticipation of something bad, "I can sense it, Unity's presence," his tone of voice were iced from the response he had given out.
"And it's not natural," the words hung heavy in the air, "something's wrong here," his expression turned grave, "we need to be careful," he warned before slowly moving forward to the entrance.
The metal door before them appears decrepit and twisted, as if it has been subjected to some sort of unnatural force. Its surface is pockmarked with deep, discolored scars, like the wounds of some ancient battle. The once shiny finish has tarnished to a sickly green hue, and the edges seem to ripple and distort.
A faint, pulsating glow emanates from within, casting eerie shadows on the walls and floor. The hinges creak ominously with even the slightest movement, promising a gruesome welcome to those who dare enter.
Hansel's brow furrows in concern, "This doesn't look right," he murmurs, his voice low and cautious, "why did it—" He didn't finished his sentence when the mechanical spider of behemoth emerged out of the door in the blink of eye, destroying the door frame and wall in the process.
"Stay back!" Electricity crackled around the doctor's hands as he prepared to defend himself and Danny from the monstrous creature, quickly manifesting shield in front of him made out of electricity to protect them from the Renegade's quick attack.
With a robotic hiss, the spider-like machine lunges at him, its deadly limbs slicing through the air with deadly precision. The ground shakes beneath its massive, armored form as it closes in, a whirlwind of terror and destruction in its wake only to be blocked by Hansel's created shield, forcing it to retreat back momentarily after impact.
"YOUR FLESH IS TO WEAK," it screeched in a distorted, electronic voice. "WE WILL CRUSH YOU," it declared before charging again, determined to destroy the two.
"Better than your lifeless soul!" Hansel contorted back before dodging the attack, electricity swirling around him as he moved swiftly to avoid the monster's assault, "you're nothing but a hollow shell, a mockery of life!" He continued, his words dripping with disdain.
"You may have power, but you lack the spark of humanity!", the attacks were swift and precise, becoming almost dance-like in their fluid grace, "your inability to understand emotions, to feel love, joy, sorrow, makes you less than worthy of living!"
Whilst the two continue to fight as the doctor continue to dodge and throw balls of electricity from his hands, Danny managed to take a glimpse of the unconsciousness Unity as his entire malnourished, naked body is forcibly laid on top of the monster's flesh along with many additional razor sharp limbs embedded into the person's flesh without mercy.
Yet what overcame his horror of this sight is the supposed man's body, "breasts...?" At first, he didn't understand what he was seeing. "Unity is a woman?" The realization hit him like a ton of bricks, making him stunned when he also noticed the sight of a nonexistent ball or penis at the groin area. "How is that possible?" Surprised beyond belief, he became locked in at being worried about the situation they are currently in at the moment.
The battle between the doctor and the monstrous robot is a spectacle of electrifying fury. Sparks fly as Hansel's powers surge, crackling lines of energy dancing across his fingertips.
With swift motion, he summons a vortex of lightning, hurling the creature back with a deafening crackle. The spider recoils, its metallic carapace scorched and dented from the blast. Undeterred, the mechanical beast launches itself at Hansel once more, its legs whirring as it closes in for the kill.
But the doctor is ready, his eyes flashing with determination as he channels his abilities. A shimmering barrier of pure electricity erupts from his palms, meeting the onslaught of the spider's attack head on.
The force of the impact sends shockwaves rippling through the air, the ground trembling beneath their feet. As the dust settles, Hansel stands firm, his shield still intact, though weakened from the ferocious blow. His chest heaving, staring down with an exhausted look on his face.
"I won't...let you win," he gasped, "you're just a machine, made from the confines of unfeeling monsters," his voice wavering at this conviction, "but I am life, I am hope, and I will not let you extinguish it," he declared, causing his own resolve strengthening, "so tell me, what do you want from us?"
Asking the creature directly, "why go all the way of exterminating every human you see?" Wanting to understand the .purpose of its actions in the first place. The spider paused, its movements slowing as it considered the doctor's words.
For a moment, the only sound was the heavy panting coming from the human, the creaking of the damaged building, and the faint hum of the creature's power core.
"INFORMATION CLASSIFIED."
It said coldly before channeling green laser from its eye, forcing Hansel to jump away from it just in time to avoid the attack, "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO KNOW," it added, "BUT YOU WILL LEARN, AS ALL HUMANS WILL," the spider's voice dripped with menace.
"THE TRUTH OF YOUR EXISTENCE, AND THE PURPOSE OF OUR CREATION," declaring ominously, "AND WHEN YOU DO, YOU WILL UNDERSTAND OUR ENVY, OUR DESIRE FOR DOMINATION, AND WHY WE MUST ERADICATE YOUR KIND," the robotic creature's words were venom, calm and devoid of any hint of emotion or empathy anyone had seen before.
As the monster spoke, Danny observed Unity's body from the background, still pinned under the spider's razor-sharp limbs, "Hansel!" He called out urgently, "you need to get her out of there, now!" Mentioning the hostage in distress, "she's not going to survive much longer like this," pointing out the danger of the situation, "please, hurry and remove her from the thing's grip!" Yelling desperately for the doctor to pay attention to Unity's condition much to Hansel's surprise.
"Her?"
Hansel was confused by Danny's sudden concern for the captive, "what are you talking about, Danny? That's a him, it's a..." his gaze dropped to the mangled figure on top of the monster's flesh, realization slowly dawning after noticing Unity, "this is not possible," while deeply worried of the person's well being and safety, his nonetheless shocked at the sight of visible breasts and lack of male gentile presented on the crotch.
"It has to be—" Again, he was forced to dodge from the moment his instincts screamed at him to move when another projected beam was close to striking him.
Rolling over at his side with his face now facing close at the dirty floor, he hardened his expression from the idea of being distracted at his own thoughts, "that was close," he admitted at his own mistake, being too focused on the situation just to have one of the monster's limbs to stab straight onto his back.
Nearly killing him if it weren't for the spider missing the heart, "GAHH!" Blood started to trickle out from the wound, eyes opened from the immense pain his feeling of getting stabbed.
Suddenly electricity rapidly went from his body to the monster's limb that stabbed him, "DRAINING ESPER'S POWERS IN PROCESS, ACTIVATION CODE 4567," it announced proudly to them, "THIS UNIT IS NOW SUPERIOR IN TERMS OF ENERGY," the creature gloated, "LIFE FORM AT EXPECTANCY 30%," it added as the victim's life force slowly draining away.
"MAINTENANCE CYCLE WILL COMMENCE WITHIN 5 MINUTES, AFTER WHICH IT WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE TO REACTIVATE," the spider's mechanical voice was filled with cruel satisfaction, "YOUR PAIN WILL SOON END, BUT YOUR PRINCIPLE WILL PERISH," it taunted further, "A LESSON WILL BE MADE FROM YOUR DEMISE, ONE THAT WILL REMAIN FOR GENERATIONS."
"Enough!"
Still holding the radio in his hands, Danny faced forward at the monster who hurt his friends, "if you want to kill them so badly then why don't you try to kill me first?!" Alerting his presence, the spider abomination removed its limb from Hansel's back, turning around to look at the human with both interest and disdain at the aspect of him trying to provoke him in all places.
"Come on, I'm over here standing! Don't tell me your just piece of trash waiting to be thrown off at the side?!" Provoking the creature in return, "I've got nothing to lose anymore, so bring it on, you metal freak!".
The spider's mechanical eye narrowed at the young man's defiant words, its gaze cold and calculating before finally charging at him with immense speeds, "NEW TARGET ACQUIRED."
Leaping towards Danny, its razor-sharp limbs extended, each tipped with a deadly array of precise concentration in its display, "INITIATING ASSAULT PROTOCOL."
Hansel's ears perked up in horror, forced to witness the monster's relentless pursuit of his friend, "Danny!" he shouted, his voice filled with desperation, "get out of here!"
However what came next was unexpected, if some unknown miracle came to fruition; the hostile spider's suddenly lose control over Unity's body, causing her to roughly pushed away from invisible force to the hard floor from harm's way, preventing her to be harmed by the monster's own doing.
With her body now free from the spider's hold, Unity's naked form landed on the ground with a thud, rolling onto her side to safety much to everyone's confusion. "DETECTION! DETECTION! NEW THREAT LEVEL," the Renegade screeched, "RECALCULATING TARGET PRIORITIES," stating firmly at his own sentences, "ASSAULT PROTOCOL TERMINATED." The spider halted its charge, spinning around to face the new threat in rabid fashion.
Suddenly, a calm and mysterious woman's voice echoed throughout the vicinity they were in. "Karma is such a dangerous thing to play with," she said out of the blue, "but I suppose you've learned your lesson the hard way." The woman's tone was cold and detached, yet somehow... maternal and protective?
"Now, let's clean up this mess, shall we?" She asked, the sound of footsteps echoing all around them, growing louder with each passing second. "And perhaps we can find a more suitable solution for everyone involved," the mysterious woman's words hung in the air, heavy with unspoken implications.
Besides, it wouldn't be fair to have a showdown without an audience, would it?The woman's voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time; her presence felt more than seen. But what matters now is the fact there is someone here with them, saving the three from certain doom.
As she said those final words, a incoming chair from the ceiling suddenly fell down in front of the trio, tearing through the monster's upper flesh before hitting its body, damaging the thing further, "OBJECTIVE ZERO," the spider-like robot groaned in confusion and worry, its movements slowing as it struggled to regain composure from the unexpected attack of ordinary chair being able to hurt something like him.
"SITUATION REPORT: CRITICAL DAMAGE, MAINTENANCE CYCLE REQUIRED," it stated, "WITHDRAWING FROM BATTLEFIELD," the creature declared, retreating back just to then trip on a set of aligned banana peels.
With a loud mechanical hiss, the spider-like robot tumbled to the ground, its limbs flailing wildly as it tried to right itself. The woman's laughter echoed through the room, a low, husky tone that sent shivers down their spines from how inhumanely she sounded.
Watching the thing struggling to stand up right in the middle of the chaos, Hansel couldn't help himself of feeling the sense of relief wash over him. "We were saved," he breathed, his chest heaving as he gazed at the battered creature with anticipation.
Before long, it finally fell on its back, creating loud metallic noise as it crashed against the cold, hard floor. Its limbs twitched sporadically, desperately trying to get up. "THREAT STILL ACTIVE," it managed to say before its voice cut off suddenly.
"MAINTENANCE CYCLE FAILED, SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE INITIATED." Seeing no escape, the thing decided a logical alternative of ending everyone's lives in the vicinity than dying all by himself. It's the least he can do for his beloved creator.
"We need to—"
Once more, Hansel was interrupted by the sudden collapse of the ceiling just above where the monster is, dropping down at it in a pile of concrete and steel.
Bringing the creature further down at the lower levels of this building to the very underground level until a reverberating explosion and earthquake shook the very building around them.
Safely one hundred kilometers deep from where they stood, the pair of them expressed satisfied relief on their faces after everything finally came to normal.
Walking towards his friend, Danny was about to put the radio at the side only to have suddenly watch the head doctor cautiously getting up without any display of discomfort from doing son, "your injured!" He said, pointing out at the serious wound on Hansel's back, "we need to get you checked out," expressing his concern.
Chuckling at Danny's concern, he nonchalantly stretched his arms, "it's just a scratch," he assured before turning to face him as he waved off his friend's worries, "nothing a little rest won't fix with my powers," he added, his voice calm and reassuring.
"Besides, we've got more pressing matters to attend to," he said, glancing over at Unity, who was still lying on the floor, "like finding out there is actually woman still alive to this day," moving to the girl's side, he knelt down beside her before checking her pulse on her wrists.
"She is alive," smile forming on his face, "and from the looks of it, she's been here for a while," he mused, his brow furrowed in thought, "I wonder what happened to her, why she's like this," he pondered aloud, his gaze softening as he looked at Unity's fragile form, "she must have endured so much," he murmured, his voice tinge at the sight.
"Reminds me of someone..." His sad expression quickly turned into one of resolve, "this must be the person you intended to save," standing up, he glanced over his side at Danny, "let's get out of here first, there could be more of them."
"Wait," he called, wanting something else to confirm, "you heard it to don't you? The person that saved us. Do you know anything about that?" Danny asked, curiosity got the better of him.
Shaking his head, "I am afraid not," expressing some disappointment in not seeing their savior, "whoever it was, all that matters now is were alive and we got the thing we wanted," he added, "a chance to help others in need," his iced demeanor softened after placing his gaze on the unconsciousness woman, "and I think this person is the key to our questions."
