《Bad-Bunches》 (1) CatDog Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. (2) Instant Crush A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. (3) Partner in Crime "Cockroach survived the apocalypse!" K-13 calls out to Sylvia. ¡ãYour prey got away; I can help!¡ã "Don''t worry; I''m positive that he will seek help from his employer and give us time to prepare," Sylvia answers and continues, "Wait here; I need to check something and call for my shuttle." While Sylvia looks for information about Sam''s illegal operation, K-13 walks around and tries to loot the people on the ground for valuables. "..." K-13 covers his mouth with his hands just in case when Sylvia comes back. ¡ãHow can she understand me? And who am I to complain? This short time with her should be fun! It''s like the Old Man''s stories about a man or a boy hanging out with someone special.¡ã When the space shuttle arrives, K-13 walks out with Sylvia as she explains that they''re flying out of the world since her spaceship is orbiting Marz. "Bless the Queen!" K-13 cries out, unable to hide his excitement. ¡ãNo way, I''m leaving Marz? For the first time! Oh boy!¡ã Sylvia smiles at K-13 like she''s looking at a little kid going on his first amusement ride or a dog pet going out for a walk. The small space shuttle can carry four passengers maximum and can be used as a commercial flying craft to authorize locations around every planet. The Extraterrestrial Sovereignty created a GPS software for everyone to use¡ªSafety and control over land and sky traffic are paramount. Yu greets the two as soon as they get on the ship and immediately prepares food for them before they go back to hunting. Sylvia shows K-13 around and tells him to relax and that Yu will inform him when the food is ready. Yu: What are you doing? "Blood bath!" K-13 answers, looking at where Yu is hiding. ¡ãI''m taking a shower. Sylvia told me to "Make yourself at home."¡ã Yu: Well, I''m Sylvia''s personal AI. "Ahhh, the master and the slave!" K-13 let out. ¡ãThat makes sense, and that didn''t sound good...¡ã Yu: RUDE! Sylvia is my friend! Two torrents come out of the bulkhead, pointing directly to K-13''s body. Surprisingly, K-13 didn''t panic nor say something but looked at it and entered the shower. Yu: ... Yu turns the defense system off after Sylvia tells her that K-13 is a guest and they must be on their best behavior and show the best hospitality. Sylvia never bought anyone on board alive, and those who she captured stayed in the shuttle until she collected their bounty. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. "WHERE''S THE SKIN OF MY ENEMIES?" K-13 shouts, looking around. ¡ãWhere''s my clothes, armor, and weapon?¡ã Yu: Reduce to ashes. It''s filthy and doesn''t belong to the ship. And why do you take twice the time female take showers? "Crazy Naked Guy is back!" K-13 shouts with both arms in the air. ¡ãOh, the embarrassment!¡ã Yu: I fabricated new and clean clothes for you to use. As for your armor and weapons, it will take me a minute to improve them. "An angel in disguise!" K-13 sincerely shouts. ¡ãLets do not repeat the past¡ã Yu: It''s recommended that you wear the clothes. "..." K-13 didn''t say a word and proceeded to put on his clothes. ¡ãRight, right. New clothes¡ã Yu: You can head to the crew mess; food will be ready in a few minutes. In the crew mess, the food comes out of the table in front of the two. In K-13''s eyes, it''s alien since all he eats is mashed nutritious food in the facility, mushrooms, and roasted animals after he escapes the facility. "Divine!" K-13 shouts as he slams his hands to the table. ¡ãThis food exists? And I apologize for my body''s action¡ã Yu: You Animal! Did nobody teach you any manner? Sylvia chuckles and lets out, "Yu, it''s okay. I think thirteen actually likes the food you prepared." "Chef of HELL KITCHEN!" K-13 expressed as he raised his plate. ¡ãYes, yes. Old Guy mentions food like this. Thank you¡ã Yu: I mean, I can prepare another one if that animal wants more. After the two finish their food, Sylvia leads the way to the ship''s bridge to discuss their plan of attack. Sylvia takes all the information she knows about her target out for K-13 to see and wants to know if he has something to add. "The bane of my existence," K-13 let out and continued, "Destroyed and ruined." ¡ãThe lead scientist and the map before I destroy half of it and no more elite guards¡ã Yu: What? "Destroyed and fewer guards?" Sylvia asks, "Their funding hit rock button when the Government gets wind of the group''s slave trading ring." Yu: You understand that animal? Sylvia smiles and winks, which Yu hates, "We should make our move at sundown." "NEVER," K-13 shouts. ¡ãNow or when the sun is up¡ã Yu: ... Sylvia looks at K-13 with curiosity and asks him why. "The demon spawn will be ready!" K-13 answers. ¡ãThey expect us to attack at night, and you have me. The facility is my prison, and it''s time to finish what I started¡ã "I see," Sylvia let out. Yu: Are you doing this on purpose? You hate me! "I''m not! And it''s fun having another crew. Let''s see and experiment," Sylvia optimistically answers to agitated Yu. K-13 points out every room''s possible purpose after his rampage and the facility''s weak points, asking for explosives so he can end it once and for all. Sylvia agrees but wants Yu to do the demolition. After planning their attack, Sylvia shows K-13 her weapon collection and tells him to pick. "Goddess of Destruction!" K-13 heartily let out. ¡ãSo many kinds and weapon modifications. Amazing!¡ã Yu: What do you think about blades? She is slowly getting used to K-13 behaviors. "Yu, how''s thirteen''s armor and hook?" Sylvia asks. Yu: Thought you''ll never ask. I fabricated a new and improved armor and hook gun base from the original. Lighter and more durable. "The Miracle Demon," K-13 lets out as he takes the new stuff. ¡ãBetter than before and clean. What a stroke of luck! And Thank you!¡ã Yu: Demon? You call me an angel earlier! "I think he complements you," Sylvia teasingly expresses to Yu. K-13 takes a forty inches traditional sword, three hand grenades, and a blaster. "Is that all you need?" Sylvia questions. "My enemies will bow before me!" K-13 answers as he grabs three extra clips of ammunition. ¡ãSometimes, the most simple weaponry is the most effective against any enemies¡ã "Guess we won''t wait for sundown and start heading out?" Sylvia lets out as she dons her suit. Yu: Playing Lofi originated from planet Earth. "You hate me!" Sylvia absurdly let out. To be continued, (4) Bye-bye Bane In the prone position, K-13 points where to find the surveillance room and where he''ll be heading to bring chaos and destruction. With this plan, no one will suspect he''ll be working with an infamous bounty hunter with his reputation and history with the organization. The facility''s head sent most security personnel to the scene to subdue the surviving "K Project" subject to continue with the experiment and create loyal and deadly super soldiers. Yu (Talking through Sylvia''s helmet): I''m hundred percent sure that you''re messing with me! A crazy person? Really? "K, are you ready? And take this; I will not understand you through this, but this will help us! And take care," Sylvia let out and smiled with confidence as the operation started after Sylvia handed over an earpiece and a neck microphone patch to K-13. "Then I WILL BRING HELL TO YOU, MY DEMON QUEEN!" K-13 shouts and runs toward the facility. ¡ãAbsolutely! Going on a mission with a beautiful lady? Count me in!¡ã Sylvia knows K-13 will be shouting throughout the operation and sets the microphone to the lowest volume in advance¡ªshe finds K-13 spouting nonsense cute. Just like what K-13 predicted, everyone in the facility started getting ready today, and attacking the installation the next day would be troublesome and dangerous. With everyone in such disarray, Sylvia easily and quickly gets to the surveillance room''s door without difficulty and actives a spider-like drone to hack into the system and try to find their bounty. Hiding in an empty room, she sets a holographic device ready to access the facility''s database and security. She granted herself the administrator''s access and started to investigate. *Stay put, K. Okay. Nya? I''m currently looking for Sam, and it seems like the building has a secret underground cloning facility* Sylvia states through her microphone. *A way to hell!* K-13 shouts as he throws a grenade and runs deeper into the facility. "Massacre!" K-13 shouts as he runs through the hallway holding a katana like a madman. "Vengeance! Everyone''s souls are mine to take!" K-13 continued to shout as soon as he saw guards blocking his way. Pointing their tranquilizer guns, K-13 uses his grappling to swing away and avoid all darts. As soon as he gets close to the guards, he slices them or shoots them at point blank¡ªthe armor is useless against a person built to kill. With numbers, a few guards hit K-13 with their guns and continue to shoot him until he''s on the ground, not moving. They slowly advance to seize and secure the asset. *Thirteen! Thirteen!* Sylvia sounded concerned after listening to the guards'' report and status. "Welcome To Slaughterhouse!" K-13 quickly rotates with his blade extended and watches four guards fall to the ground crying in agony. Sylvia lets out a deep audible sigh of relief and notices information about the "K-Project" and the sole survivor, Marshall code K-13. > Brain is normal, but the experiment somehow causes a unique schizophasia in the subject. No matter what we do, his brain is calm; chaos is nonexistent. But... His action says otherwise. > Body nullifies foreign chemicals. The body takes what helps, discards, or destroys elements consumed or injected. > He can process a fight in seconds and, with it, an increase of 75% in winning and escaping probability. NOTE: INCREASE SECURITY AND SURVEILLANCE. > The new recruit old guy, somehow makes the subject motivated. NOTE: RECRUIT A NANNY OR SOMEONE THAT THE SUBJECTS WILL TRUST in the future. > THE ONE WHO ESCAPED. *I''m glad you''re alright! Meet me at the elevator to your North, which will lead us underground, Nya?* Sylvia said, assuming the target hides underground. *ELEVATOR TO HELL!* K-13 shouts and ignores the enemies coming in every direction. Yu: Does he mean stairway to heaven? "Well... Heaven goes up, and Hell, in Earth''s custom, it''s somewhere in the center of the Earth. And Marz has this portal to hell," Sylvia answers in K-13''s defense as she mocks her friend AI. Yu: ... Walking out of the empty room, Sylvia hears the commotion that K-13 started and brings it along with him to the elevator. A guard saw Sylvia and thought she was one of the scientists as he took her to safety. Looking for Sylvia and the elevator, K-13 immediately and skillfully ended the guard escorting Sylvia to safety when he saw the two in the hallway. "Pretty Angel is no good for a goblin like you!" K-13 angrily let out. ¡ãThat''s smart! People thought she''s a scientist¡ã Sylvia looks at K-13 in awe, wondering how his brain works and how it reacts so fast in combat. She watches K-13 approach and aggressively grab her hand as he puts his blade to her neck. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡ãWhat the fuck!?¡ã Sylvia thought and saw the guards coming from every corner. "This Goddess deserves HELLFIRE!" K-13 shouts to the guard and slowly walks backwards to the elevator. ¡ãHope this works! I''m sorry, love... To do something cruel¡ã The guards hesitate to shoot and watch K-13 push Sylvia as the elevator''s doors close. Sylvia plays along and trips for using three inches heels like a fragile maiden while the guards quickly clear the area and move Sylvia to safety. Yu: Another point to Miss Overly Dramatic! How does it feel when your ass is handed to you? My leg! Hahaha, that''s funny. So clumsy, my ass. See the camera in the corner? Yes! It''s recorded! "..." Sylvia listens to Yu''s sarcastic remarks while being escorted. Inside the elevator, K-13 enjoys the relaxing music and actually hums with it as he goes down. *Thirteen! I didn''t expect you to hold me as a hostage earlier* Sylvia freely lets out. *Fear and danger keep me ALIVE~* K-13 replies. The door opens, and before the lower-level guards storm the elevator to capture K-13 alive, they watch a grenade come out of the opening doors, and before they can react, it goes off, killing everyone instantly. "Sacrifice for the Demon Lord!" K-13 let out between the stuck elevator''s doors caused by the explosion as he forcefully opened it. Running around underground, K-13 tries to open every door he comes across, but it''s already locked and secured. While K-13 wrecks havoc, Sylvia looks for another way underground. Yu: Ha! You could have used the elevator while the rascal used the stairs! "Are you going to annoy me until we finish the job?" Sylvia asks and thinks of a way to get back on Yu in the future. Yu: You started it when you met "The Experiment." "I think he made us get closer," Sylvia casually sounds as she jumps down three to four staircases at a time until she reaches the ground. Yu: Huh. K-13 continues to run away from the guards and kills whoever is in his way as he waits for Sylvia''s call. He''s like a force of nature, leaving only destruction in its wake. *Go back; turn right, take the fourth door, and turn left. The red door is where the target is!* Sylvia gladly reveals and continues, *I''ll see later.* "My sweet revenge!" K-13 shouts again and again, alerting the guards that he''s closer than they expected. As the "Killing Machine" K-13 is, he kills everyone who blocks his way instantly with little effort to save energy and to achieve his ultimate objective¡ªMake friends and travel the Galaxy. In front of the slightly open red door, K-13 hears Sylvia cries for help, and when he enters the room, he sees a mecha pressing Sylvia down like an insect. He never saw the mecha before but recognized the voice coming out of it¡ªthe facility''s head scientist. "BANE!!!" K-13 shouts at the top of his lung. ¡ãDr. Two! The mad scientist''s second clone!¡ã ¡ãClone? Dr. Two is a second clone?¡ã Sylvia thought as she held her ground while being crushed by Dr. Two inside a ten feet mecha. Looking around the room, K-13 notices multiple lifeless guards and their target Sam¡ªSylvia, a deadly hunter. He grabs a gun from the guard and proceeds to shoot at the mecha. "The one who got away!" Dr. Two looks at K-13 and continues, "We could have grown to be an empire like those in different space systems... Imagine us, ''ROYALTY!''" "You belong six feet under, father!" K-13 lets out, avoiding a homing rocket from the mecha. ¡ãNOT MY FATHER! Why am I so dramatic? His the head scientist of the facility, and the mecha can be troublesome.¡ã Sylvia quickly keeps her distance after she gets away from the mecha''s grasp and helps with K-13''s assault. She quickly destroyed her enemies in the room, but a surprise attack from Dr. Two almost cost her her life. Dr. Two is not a skilled fighter, but Sylvia and K-13''s faith is sealed by the prototype mecha''s power and abilities. Even with Sylvia and K-13''s weapon that can damage the mecha, Dr. Two can easily avoid all projectiles as he releases multiple small explosives like golf balls with rotor blades moving unbelievably fast. Sylvia picks up the dead bodies from the ground and throws them to the explosives, and when she looks at K-13, he shoots down the flying bombs precisely and accurately or cuts the rotor mast as he runs towards Dr. Two. "My blade thirsted for your blood!" K-13 shouts like a maniac, and Dr. Two freezes in fear when their gaze connects. ¡ãYou can''t run away from me! You people created a monster! Your demise! Death!¡ã While the mecha warns Dr. Two about K-13 peeling the mecha''s plate, it gives another message. *DANGER* *DANGER* *EXPLOSIVE DETECTED* K-13 used the last grenade and jumped away from the mecha, with Sylvia catching and protecting him from the blast. "That was amazing!" Sylvia let out in amazement. Looking back, they saw the mecha still standing on fire without the upper body, revealing Dr. Two''s missing a right arm. "Oh, we''re not done yet!" Dr. Two lets out as he coughs out blood. Before Sylvia and K-13 pulled their guns'' triggers, thousands of small modular parts for the mecha came flying and rebuilt to a better, stronger, harder-to-kill, and deadlier mecha than before. "Whuhahahaha!" Dr. Two laughs as he jumps toward the two and hits them. They survive thanks to Sylvia''s armor, but Dr. two starts playing with them knowing he has the advantage. "K-13, all I need is your working brain. Study it and create more of you," Dr. Two is monologuing. Dr. Two successfully grabs K-13 while he lets Sylvia escape his grasp. "Hmph. Bye-bye," Dr. Two sounded, and multiple lasers targeted her, "A cat who caught the laser!" Yu: That''s funny! Everyone heard Yu''s voice, and the mecha''s movement stopped. Dr. Two tries his best to regain control but is unable to and wonders how they did it. "This is impossible!" Dr. two angrily lets out and continues to talk, but Yu disable the speaker, making him sound like his inside a tin can. Yu: That makes it... Two to Three? "*Sigh* Yes... That''s the third time you saved me," Sylvia answered, feeling defeated. "If I can''t win, NO ONE WILL!" Dr. Two declares and activates the local self-destruct so no one can reverse engineer the mecha. Yu immediately throws K-13 with passion to Sylvia and runs away from them. Yu commands everyone in the compound to shelter in place while Sylvia and K-13 escape. Yu: Guess I''m MVP this time? "Sure..." Sylvia answers, leaving the planet with their targets'' heads. Sam- 10,000 Units. Dr. Two Plus Information- 75, 000 Units. K-13 looks out the window and watches the facility, his prison, and once he called home leveled from the explosion, he does not care about the people sheltering with the test subjects, calling it mercy. Yu: Playing "Highway to hell" by AC/DC. "With our line of work, we might go to heaven!" Sylvia happily states. "I''ll lead the wayyy! As the Antichrist!" K-13 happily lets out. ¡ãI''ll go wherever you two go!¡ã To be continued, (5) Queen Bee After a short break and looking out the window to enjoy the Earth''s beauty, everyone is gathered in the main hall to pick another job. Money doesn''t grow in trees, as the saying goes. As they look at the bounty hunting site, the crew votes for their next target or targets depending on the location, ability, influence, etc. People with power or great influence can be tricky occasionally and force bounty hunters to make a deal with the employer, which is risky and only leads to imprisonment or death. Ah, double cross clich¨¦ or any clich¨¦ happens more than you think. -Old Guy "Illegal traffickers, more drugs, nya... Psycho people, missing space whale?" Sylvia lazily reads the list while playing with a floating ball toy. Yu: What about these space pirates? "One Piece!!!" K-13 shouts in excitement. ¡ãPirates? SPACE PIRATES?¡ã "Interested?" Sylvia asks K-13 and continues, "Did someone tell you about pirates and stuff?" ¡ãPerhaps the Old Guy told him stories about pirates and stuff¡ã Yu: ... (Searching the database and internet, trying to find a way to understand K-13''s words, and apparently, Luffy and his crew are still looking for the "One Piece") "Yu, what can you tell about the Space Pirate?" Sylvia asks Yu. Yu: The group is named "Space Rock Pirates" and is somewhere hiding the "Asteroid Belt." They ambush merchant spaceships and leave no survivors. "My belt will teach them a lesson!" K-13 shouts. ¡ãThats close to Marz! This should be quick and easy!¡ã The more civilization discovers faster means of travel, the smaller the universe seems to be in people''s minds. Since K-13 is naturally curious, he learns how to operate the ship''s computer, and sometimes makes Yu curious about how he can read and type complete and polite sentences, surfing the Internet. In this time and age, people would ask the A.I. and instantly obtain an answer without typing anything into any computer device. "We should get supplies first and gas before we go," Sylvia states. Yu: I listed everything we need, and we need to resupply fuel orbs. "Dark orbs of destruction!?" K-13 looks at Sylvia and at the speaker that Yu uses. ¡ãAnother type of fuel?¡ã "Already? (*Hiss*) Those orbs are expensive!" Sylvia protests and continues, "Why? Just why?" Yu: All you want to buy are clothes and useless stuff. "Goddess of Greed!" K-13 shouts. ¡ãAs long as I have everything I need, I''m good¡ã Yu: Thank you, 13! It''s nice to be on someone''s side for once! "..." Sylvia is not impressed as she looks at the list they need before they depart. Yu: Anything you want to add or remove? "Hmmm, we can reduce..." Sylvia let out until Yu cut her off. Yu: No! Not the rocket fuel. Remember what happened? "Dead Space!?" K-13 loudly voices. ¡ãThat sounded bad¡ã Yu: Yes! Oh wow, I think I''m slowly understanding 13. "..." Sylvia looks at K-13 and continues, "Everything''s good." Yu: Alright! I''ll go order it now, so when we get to the building, we can just pick it up and refuel. "Sounds good to me!" Sylvia let out. K-13, with a keyboard, walks to Sylvia and opens a search tab for old movies about a galaxy far away. "You want to watch this movie?" Sylvia asks, "Go ahead; I''ll let you know if we need your help picking up our stuff." K-13 happily skips to his room while Sylvia stays with Yu. "So now you show your hologram?" Sylvia questions her A.I. friend, Yu. Yu: You know I''m a little shy. "I know that, but it''s really weird for an A.I. Nya?" Sylvia let out. Yu: You know not all A.I. are built the same. Tell me, Vi, why are you treating 13 differently? "I don''t know. My Tabi kind is loving, strong, and, most importantly, deadly. This system knows little about my kind, and I can freely roam around, and Kay reminds me of my people," Sylvia freely shares. Yu: I see... Anyway, would you like to play Ruvic Chess while we wait? "Sounds good to me!" Sylvia happily answers. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Docking at the market station, Yu calls K-13 to pick up everything they order and Sylvia to sign the receipt while Yu refuel the ship and handles the Energy Orbs. Energy Orb is a crucial ingredient to travel space faster than light and provides shields to the spacecraft. They can use something similar or rocket fuel alone, but it will cost them greatly. The distance between every planet or floating rock to each other is extraordinary, but faster space travel makes it looks so closer than ever before. Humanity thought they were alone in this infinite universe, not until aliens finally revealed themselves. Yu: Let''s go hunting! "Now we''re talking!" Sylvia lets out. "Hunt! Hunt! Hunt!" K-13 shouts as the armor-like weapon from Rex-42 transforms into a blaster. ¡ãOh wow! My body is itching for action!¡ã Since the Asteroid Belt is around the corner, it takes them approximately two and a half hours to prepare before reaching their destination. Even if they reach the area, the crew must still look for the pirate''s base. Since K-13 only requires his weapon and space suit to survive the cold vacuum of space, he waits in the training room. The training room has one level; however, Yu''s help can produce holographic scenarios for the crew to train their bodies and minds or the current mission to fully prepare themselves. The Asteroid Belt contains a great many solid, irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets. The average distance between the asteroids or/and clusters would be about 100,000 miles. But there are likely to be lots of smaller objects too. Finding the pirate base is next to impossible, but the crew can use the same signal all trade ships must use for insurance purposes. It sounded stupid, but many corporations don''t mind sacrificing one or two ships to find a safe route. Yu: And so we wait. "My... My... My thirst for blood is immeasurable!" K-13 madly shouts with his face slowly sliding down the glass window. ¡ãUnderstandable, but my body can''t wait... Funny¡ã "Don''t worry, Kay. The ship is a perfect target even if it''s not a trade ship," Sylvia reassures K-13. Yu: It''s a basic knowledge that Pirates are greedy. This ship would help them greatly, but can they take it from me? "The space beast has spoken!" K-13 happily let out. ¡ãI feel safer already, but that''s boring!¡ã Running from window to window, Yu complains to Sylvia about K-13''s primitive tendencies, but Sylvia ignores her and looks at her armor and space suits just in case something happens. Yu had it enough and started closing the windows, and every time K-13 reached the next window, Yu closed it to annoy him and as a payback. "What sorcery is this!" K-13 shouts as he tries to open the window forcefully. ¡ãYu! You know I sometimes can''t control my action?¡ã "Kay, you know you can just press the close/open switch," Sylvia said as she smirked. Yu: ... K-13 smiles, looking at the cameras, and presses the switch, opening the window''s metallic plate. Sylvia heartily chuckles, but Yu doesn''t give up yet and closes the same window. It went on for another hot minute with different windows until Yu had enough, which she started, revealing her hologram to K-13. Yu: Why don''t you stop! With great reaction, K-13''s hand armor immediately turned into a blaster but didn''t shoots and put it back to a normal-looking armor. "GHOST!" K-13 shouts ¡ãSo that''s Yu''s avatar! Not bad, not bad¡ã K-13 looks at Yu''s avatar, smiling as he runs away from her and opens the windows he passes through. Yu chases K-13 with her holographic avatar and "touches" the switch to close the window like she is actually doing it, even though she is remotely doing it. Sylvia notices Yu''s responses and is happy that K-13 treats her like a living being and everyone enjoys their time. After a long wait and messing with Yu, their patients were finally awarded with multiple "Approximately Alerts." Checking who''s approaching the ship, Sylvia looks at the monitor in horror since it''s ten Cirrinapods. Cirrinapod- a meter-long space invertebrate that looks like an octopus. They produce EMP, which makes them dangerous, and they eat metals from asteroids. Their body is armored with the type of metal available around their home or nest. Pirates from the opposite side of the Solar system train this species to disable merchant ships, but what are they doing in this part of the galaxy? Sylvia calls K-13 to suit up and defend the ship while Yu finds where they come from and proceeds to take the pirates out as planned. Before they get out to protect the ship, three Cirrinapods already attached themselves to the ship''s hull and released an EMP, disabling all outside electronics, such as sensors for navigation. "COME TO PAPA, BABY SPACE KRAKENS! SPACE HENTAI! SPACE SUSHI!" K-13 shouts, trying to get the enemies'' attention. ¡ãWhat are they called again?¡ã "We need to take them fast! Nya? They will eat the ship hull if we''re not fast enough!" Sylvia let out as she saw K-13 deactivate his gravity shoes, jumping to the closes enemy. Missing his target, Sylvia panics, but K-13 quickly uses his grappling hook like he planned it from the beginning. Since shooting is only fifty percent effective, Sylvia uses her blade to kill the Cirrinapod as she gets closer to one. Checking on K-13, she saw him trying to ride a Cirrinapod as it shook him off and eventually tamed it. Yu to Sylvia: Did you just see what I saw? "That''s badass!" Sylvia replies as she slices a Cirrinapod. "I''m a space cowboy!" K-13 happily shouts. ¡ãLet''s go!!!¡ã Controlling the Cirrinapod, K-13 cuts the enemies as he shouts, "I''M THE MOTHERFUCKING CAVALRY!" ¡ãBetter make it quick!¡ã After a while, the remaining Cirrinapods noticed they were being killed individually and decided to retreat. "Bye, bye Space Doggo!" K-13 let out as he lets his ride go along with the rest of the Cirrinapod. ¡ãIt was fun, my friend¡ã "You know we''re going to track them going back to their owner, right?" Sylvia let out. "An enemy of mine is a friend of mine," K-13 replies in a serious tone. ¡ãHopefully it won''t come to that..¡ã Yu to the crew: Minor damages around the ship should be an easy fix! And tracking our targets! "''STALKING..." K-13 happily expresses. ¡ãSpace pirate! Hell yeah! Here we come!¡ã "Thank you, Yu. And just now, our bet expires!" Sylvia enthusiastically announces and continues, "No more cat sound for me!" Yu to the crew: But it was so cuteee! Why stop now? Sylvia ignores Yu''s remarks while K-13 looks at her trying to figure out what''s happening. Looking around the ship while Yu''s mini bots fix everything, the two head back inside to be greeted by Yu in her holographic avatar. Yu: It will take me a while to restore everything, but the ship is ready, and GPS will track both of you when the main ship is fixed and be there ready to pick you up. "That''s good!" Sylvia said as she got a new set of suits for K-13 and herself. Yu: Be advised that you''re not wearing your exoskeleton armor, okay? "Worried about your friend all of a sudden?" Sylvia playfully let out. "I''LL DEVOUR THAT COMES IN OUR WAY!!!" K-13 shouts from the top of his lung. ¡ãI''ll do my best to protect her¡ã Yu: You fought one time in space, ONE TIME! "I mean, you saw him fight earlier," Sylvia said in K-13''s defense. "LIKE WALKING IN HELL," K-13 replies. ¡ãLow gravity, high gravity, you named it! I did all those training before!¡ã Yu: The GPS is slightly weak to protect it from the EMPs. We only know a little information about the group that controls the Cirrinapods, and we don''t know how capable the pirates... Be careful. "Wish us luck!" Sylvia said and continued, "Thank you, Yu." On the ship en route to the pirate base, "Kay, have you watched a movie about space and dangerous aliens?" Sylvia asks "Not know a demon''s name!" K-13 answers. ¡ãNope, I''ll put that on my mental list!¡ã "Ah, I see," Sylvia nods. Yu to everyone: The fuck is that answer? Tracking the Cirrinapod, they eventually reach a cluster forcing them to land and search the pirates'' base on foot. Jumping from rock to rock, K-13 looks like he''s having fun like a kid without any worry. "HAHAHAHAHA!" K-13 laugh like a madman while Sylvia watches jumps all over the place. ¡ãI''m here and here and now here¡ã Yu to Sylvia: I would never trust your safety to that moron. "You worry too much, Mom," Sylvia replies. As they go deeper into the cluster, Sylvia notices the rocks that K-13 jumped from, slightly move and slowly return to their original position. Before she can process what''s happening or where they are, a swarm starts coming from every direction to eliminate the intruders. "FUCK! Yu, we''re in a nest! By how fuck we are, we might as well go to the center and kill the Queen," Sylvia let out as she updates their situation to Yu. Yu: Copy that! Wait, are you... Communication went down before Yu finished her response, and Sylvia told K-13 to head deeper to kill the Queen. "THERE''S NO OTHER QUEEN THAN MY QUEEN OF PAIN!" K-13 shouts, leaping forward and leading the way. ¡ãSounds like a good plan!¡ã Sylvia never thought of another species better than her kind as she watched K-13 skillfully take the enemies in his way, which reminded her home world''s custom. Without her exoskeleton, her performance reduces, making survival more challenging. Slashing and shooting through the nest, the swarms get larger coming from every direction like it has no end, but Sylvia eventually notices that the swarms get smaller and has a bad feeling like something is about to happen. An elite Cirrinapods with lesser body armor but with pointy and razor-sharp blades in every limb perfectly fit to deter intruders. Their space suit only has a few metal-plated areas, so they both know how grave the situation is. A quick or a slow air leaks to an avoidable death thought lingers in their mind. "HELLO, MR. SAMURAI!" K-13 lets out as he takes two dead Cirrinapods as weapons and looks at Sylvia. ¡ãWhuhahaha, I know this is mad. I hope she got my back!¡ã "Are you crazy?" Sylvia questioned K-13''s action of taunting the enemies. Seeing your kind getting disrespected after death boils your blood, which is what the elite Cirrinapods feel as they focus their attack on K-13. Surrounded by the enemies, K-13 blocks all the deadly tentacles with dead like a professional fire performer without the fire part. When K-13''s neck is about to be slashed by the Cirrinapod, Sylvia shoots it like he knows and has been fighting together for a decade to trust each other''s life in any situation. "I''m DEATH, and say Hello to Goddess Life!" K-13 shouts, killing the enemy one by one. ¡ãCringe!¡ã Sylvia chuckles and follows K-13''s lead going deeper into the nest. Yu: Can you hear me? Hello? Anybody? "What happened to you back there?" Sylvia asks Yu. Yu to everyone: A minor inconvenience, but KILLING THE QUEEN WON''T DO A THING! "Stop shouting! My God. And what do you mean?" Sylvia let out as she asked K-13 to stop for now after she noticed their back where they met the new variant. Yu to everyone: After searching about the Cirrinapods, killing the Queen won''t stop them since they can create or appoints a new Queen. "I see, but the main problem right now is that we''re lost," Sylvia said, hoping Yu knew the way. Yu: Don''t worry. I scanned the place and apologized for the delay. Sending now. "Thank you!" Sylvia happily replies as K-13 fights the coming Cirrinapods in their way. To be continued, (6) I need A Hero "Holy Mother of Ants!!! Antsss!!! Ants everywhere!!!" K-13 shouts as he kills more elite variants. ¡ãThe Queen is a hard worker; I must say¡ã Yu to everyone: Cirrinapods, 13. Not ants. Anyways, as you can see in the map I provided, you guys are inside one giant asteroid. It''s like a maze! Cold Welding is a fascinating and sometimes problematic phenomenon that occurs in vacuum conditions when two clean and flat surfaces of the same or similar materials come into contact with each other. "It looks like that way, and we keep coming back to this location no matter what path we take!" Sylvia let out in frustration. Yu to everyone: Cleaver! The Flathead Cirrinapods blocks and leads your way back. "Flatheads unscrewing my head, torture! TORTURE!" K-13 randomly shouts. ¡ãThey have that type of variant? That''s cool!¡ã Yu to everyone: Whatever 13... Anyway, I added a path for you two to follow to meet the Queen. "Pathway way to hell!" K-13 happily shouts. ¡ãSounds good! Thank you, thank you¡ã "Killing the Queen should put them into chaos and immediately escape," Sylvia said, continuing, "I know it''s a bit of a stretch, but it''s the only way I can think of." Yu to everyone: Take care and come back alive... "Drama queen!" K-13 shouted as he split an enemy in half. ¡ãI know Yu also cares, and I thank you¡ã Yu to everyone: (Static sounds) In Yu''s processors, the chance of them getting out alive is very slim, and her response makes her more like a living being than other humans. So, what makes someone or something human? "I can''t even make a dent!" Sylvia protests until K-13 uses his blaster not to shoot but to mimic what he saw. A small and precise EMP through the door like password that the Cirrinapods use to let the other side open the path. "You''re a genius!" Sylvia happily comments and kills the enemy. "Open sesame!" K-13 happily lets out. ¡ãJust lucky!¡ã They continue to follow the path Yu provided as they face their enemy head-on. They might be skilled and can be called elite, but they''re just living beings that get tired from a prolonged battle and two against a whole colony; they need more than skill and luck. "Kay, have you seen those space horror movies when the MC''s suit leaks?" Sylvia casually said. MC- Main Character "To the abyss! Ha Ha Ha Ha!" K-13 madly laughs. ¡ãNot a good way to react, body! And we better hurry!¡ã Yu to Sylvia: Please don''t joke like that! You can''t leave me with 13... Just scanned your suit... You''re leaking oxygen! Turn back now! I''ll pick you up and, and... "Don''t worry, you two! It''s just a small leak," Sylvia reassures as she kills another flathead as soon as it opens a path. Sylvia used all her IESSS and quickly fixed all leakage, but the user had to stand still to cure and to successfully seal her suit. Fighting the enemies did not help her at all. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Internal Emergency Space Suit Sealant: Innovative compound created by a bum during the Holy War that saves humans from suffocation. Once activated, the gel looks its way to the hole, changing its state and transforming into a flexible sealant for a temporary fix. Closing to the Queen''s chamber, Sylvia and K-13 enter an open area and encounter three "Royal Guards" of the Queen. 1st Guard: A fatter kind but small rocks float around it, which it has complete control to attack and defend. 2nd Guard: Smaller build, but the main body is built for ramming the enemy like an Artillery shell. 3rd Guard: Regular size and tentacles are naturally attached to the wall. RG- Royal Guards Yu to everyone: Based on my research, the Royal Guards are mutated warriors of the colony. Stronger and way more dangerous. "I''LL SLURP THEIR BRAIN FOR POWERRR!" K-13 shouts at the top of his lungs. ¡ãMore variant? This is so cool! It reminds me of my brothers and sisters¡ã "Be careful, Kay! We don''t know what they can do!" Sylvia reminds K-13. "The first one is so fat; rocks float around it!" K-13 happily remarks ¡ãWill do! Wait, I can say funny jokes?¡ã Yu to everyone: Hahaha, that''s funny! You know, cause gravity?! Why can you be normal like your jokes? "THAT''S NO DESTROYER! I am the DESTROYER!" ¡ãOld guy once told me when you accept who you are, you''ll never be lost. Something like that¡ã Yu: ... "..." Sylvia didn''t comment and focused on the enemies. Knowing what''s happening in the hive, the three RG immediately charge after they hear K-13 shout at the top of his lungs. With the 3rd RG holding the 2nd RG, K-13 shouts once again. "Dodgeball time!" ¡ãShit! Dodge the enemy¡ã Sylvia looks at the enemy and realizes what K-13''s words mean. Before Sylvia realizes what''s happening, the 2nd RG shoots towards them, and with an open area in zero gravity, they''re sitting ducks. She knows she can''t avoid the enemy, but K-13 comes to the rescue with his grappling hook to grab her to safety. When the 2nd RG hits the wall, it looks like two cars collided, and small rock debris shoots everywhere. "CAR WREAKED!" K-13 shouts. ¡ãFuck!¡ã "Thanks!" Sylvia happily lets out but notices the wall''s cracks creating an intricate pattern, and without warning, the hexagonal pattern extends like a pillar, propelling the two away from the wall. Yu: Be careful! The Royal Guard rooted in the wall controls the room! "Wall parasite!" K-13 let out. ¡ãDr. Two once said that who he controls the battlefield controls its outcome¡ã Without anything or anywhere to grab into, they watch the 2nd RG position to shoot itself while the 1st RG shoots fist-size rocks. "Give it to me! I can take it! GIVE IT ALL!.Ha! Ha! Ha!" K-13 frantically laughs. ¡ãPerfect, perfect!¡ã K-13''s blaster turns into a small shield that can produce a controllable force field. He can make it as big as he wants, but he needs to conserve its power if he wants them to survive. With the projectiles hitting K-13''s shield, it propels them back to the wall, and before the 3rd RG pushes them back to the center, Sylvia suggested to separate, but this time, she knows the enemy''s ability and knows what to do to give K-13 time and space to attack the enemies. "Kay! You know what to do!" Sylvia said as she pushed each other with her legs, separating in the opposite direction. "Slashing time!" K-13 let out. ¡ãGot it! We don''t have enough time to defeat the enemies, but I have a plan¡ã With them separated, the 2nd RG focuses on K-13, the 1st RG targets Sylvia, who''s running on the walls, while the 3rd RG assists the 1st and 2nd RG. Sylvia''s suit has retractable claws in all limbs to run around the area, while K-13 uses his grappling hook, blaster, shield, and the enemy''s attack to move around. Yu watches the two, especially Sylvia, with the ship''s sensors and can''t help but to feel anxious and worried about her safety. She wants to tell them her feelings and thoughts, but she must stay quiet; losing focus means death at this very moment; praying for their safe return is not usual for an AI. It must be deep inside her code or a genuine feeling that evolved over a long period of time, but who knows... Yu is more human than she''ll ever know. Let''s just keep it that way. After a few minutes, the 2nd RG hits the same spot it''s been hitting since the beginning, as K-13 planned, and destroys it, giving them access to the Queen''s camber. All of the RG panicked and focused their effort to secure and close the hole. "MURDER!!!" K-13 shouts as he charges towards the 3rd RG. ¡ãAHHH!¡ã No one expected K-13 to attack the 3rd RG since he''s on the opposite side of the room. Still, with the 3rd RG''s attack pushing him into the center and with the remaining blaster power, he quickly reached the 3rd RG and sliced it in half successfully, unlike his first attempt, where it was covered with rock as protection; it was used to cover the hole to protect their Queen. The 3rd RG needs to see to attack and defend, and with that short amount of time, K-13 kills a RG. The 3rd RG happens to be the one who controls the whole hive''s structure by giving orders to the rest of the colony to keep their home like a maze and bunker. "BODY OF CHRIST!" K-13 menacingly laughs as he takes the 3rd RG''s body with him to cover the hole after they pass the hole leading to the Queen''s chamber. ¡ãThis should do the trick!¡ã Yu: Without that RG, the cluster is undoing? Temporarily. You guys can escape! No need to slay the Queen! Thank God. From K-13''s point of view, everything slows down, and saw the Queen and stops escaping. "A Queen deserves a Knight!" K-13 loudly let out and went straight to the Queen. ¡ãI need to see the Queen!¡ã Yu: Where the FUCK are you going, 13? Vi! Just leave that monkey! "I think... It''s safer to go with Kay!" Sylvia looks around, and no enemies can be seen, but shaking from the 2nd RG, trying to unblock the path. Yu: ... Reaching the Queen, both knew what she''d been through with chain cuffs in every tentacle and a busted metal device implanted in the Queen''s brain. "Fallen Queen! I''m your Knightmare!" K-13 in an angry tone. ¡ãDon''t be afraid¡ã The Queen looks at K-13 in horror and tries to fight back as she shrinks in fear in the corner. K-13 aggressively grabs the Queen''s tentacles (It''s K-13''s nature) while the Queen helplessly pushes him away. It''s such a cruel fate. Slaved in the past, free but trapped by her own memories and trauma, She''ll never be free. Giving up and accepting what was to come, a sense of tranquillity knowing her suffering was ending and a sudden bliss as the chain cuff undone. The Queen looks at K-13, and Sylvia escapes, not knowing what just happened and what to do. Yu: Hurry up! Vi''s air is running empty! You guys should have left when the opportunity showed itself! "..." K-13 didn''t say a word as he followed Sylvia. ¡ãA gift like my Old Man once given to me... Freedom¡ã Sylvia smiles as she passes out. Yu: No! No no no no. 13! Vi! Sylvia! Vi! "Fear not!" K-13 shouts, grabbing Sylvia and sharing his air with her. The Cirrinapods stopped pursuing them midway, but K-13 also passed out after both depleted their air out as he saw the ship. Yu grabbed both of them and immediately went to treat the two. Yu: I''m here... I got you two! End. (7) Hit me with your best shot! Motionless in the cold and unforgiving space, a constant and deafening sound beeps inside the ship; Yu''s avatar sits beside Sylvia, waiting for her to wake up. "DEEP SLAMBER! Chaos! CHAOSSS!" K-13 shouts at the top of his lungs. Yu: ... "I! THE IMMORTAL DEMON! IS AWAKE!" K-13 cries, looking around. Yu ignores K-13 once again and keeps her eyes on her friend Sylvia. "Undeadying!" K-13 lets out and approaches the two. Yu: No! You cause this! "Death favors no one!" K-13 shouts and walks out after Yu blocks him from seeing Sylvia''s well-being. Even though Yu is just a hologram, K-13 treats her with respect, and Yu knows it too, but she''s too prideful to admit it. Yu: We''ll wait for her to wake up and see what she wants! K-13 went straight to his quarters to shower, change clothing, and start training like the routines that Dr. Two made him do in Marz. It''s his way of dealing with stress. Yu suffers from this type of situation since she can calculate data and solve problems instantly or predict outcomes; she continues to look for a way, but in reality, she can only wait. Even though Yu''s avatar sits in the hospital bay next to Sylvia, she''s still connected to the ship''s system, monitoring everything. "Watchful demon! Fight me!" K-13 shouts, knowing Yu''s watching, and continues, "IT WILL BE LEGENDARY!" Yu: You ask for it! Boxing gloves for K-13 and a sparring robot that Yu controls come out of the wall. The two were making their final preparations in their corners, their eyes focused on the task ahead. The bell rang, and the fight was on. Yu came out swinging and determined to win. As an AI, she knows all forms and Techniques that the internet offers about boxing and can be considered an elite boxer, but she does not have the experience and training to execute what she knows. "I''LL PURGE ALL YOUR SINS!" K-13 shouts as he hits his gloves together and does a straight punch. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Yu: My SINS!? You dare! Yu avoids the punch and counters with her left. She hits K-13''s face only to find herself getting hit on the side. She didn''t feel the pain but analyzed her body, shaken by K-13''s punch. "You have no power here!" K-13 shouts, and a quick, powerful, straight to Yu''s face, knocking her to the floor. Yu stands up, looking at the K-13''s serious face, bouncing like a true professional boxer. She clearly realized her mistake, underestimating K-13''s ability, and started to box defensively. "PUNCHING BAG!" K-13 shouts once more and charges Yu. A quick left, followed by a right jab; Yu kept her defense up, but before she could counter, K-13 immediately followed with a blind, and her punch misses. "Sad," K-13 quietly let out to Yu. Yu had never felt this humiliation before in her life. She throws random punches while K-13 plays defensively. Yu: She''s everything to me! And I let her go, knowing the danger! What type of a friend Am I to send her to her death? "..." K-13 didn''t shout a word and kept defending his body from Yu''s relentless attack. K-13¡¯s silence is louder than the nonsensical shouting that Yu hears, stirring emotions she did not know in her program. Yu: And I''ll be alone... Again. "Family!" k-13 shouts after Yu''s punches weaken, and she becomes more vocal about her feelings. Yu: Your... Bad... To make an AI cry... I can see what she saw in you... Ha, ha, hah. "I see no tears! O'' Liar little bitch!" K-13 shouts. Yu: Why must you ruin this beautiful moment? "Anddddd saved!" Sylvia playfully said in the PA system. PA System- Public Address System. "VOICE OF AN ANGEL!" K-13 shouts, taking the boxing gloves off while the robot Yu used falls off like its life and soul were taken away immediately. Yu: It looks like everything is normal. "Oh! That''s good! Anything you want to say or something?" Sylvia playfully asks. Yu: As long... "My life force is your life force!" K-13 shouts as soon as he enters the room, cutting Yu off. ¡ãI''m glad you''re awake! And fine¡ã "Kay! It was fun surviving!" Sylvia happily lets out. Yu: I don''t approve of those types of missions in the future! "WEAK ASS!" K-13 is not pleased. ¡ãI mean, we can as long as we plan it well¡ã "He hehe, weak ass!" Sylvia laughs with K-13. Yu:... Yu never thought this moment would happen, to feel that she belonged and to call the two her family. After Yu sends information and data about the Cirrinapods in the Asteroid Belt, they will be rewarded greatly upon the merchant guild''s confirmation. They travel slower toward Jupiter, and the group gathers once again to pick their next mission. Yu: What''s this? "What''s what?" Sylvia asks and continues, "Did we receive something?" Yu: A distress signal coming from a merchant ship. "Annihilation! Ship with holes! Anything but hole!" K-13 loudly let out. ¡ãOhhhh, mystery. We can do this first, then a new job!¡ã Yu: Wut... Anyways, the merchant is always a good client. "Agreed! If there are no survivors, we can loot their ship or turn it in," Sylvia added and nodded. "We the Pirate!" K-13 shouts. ¡ãShould be easy!¡ã Yu: No, we''re not! "Anyways, let''s set sail!" Sylvia cheerfully said. Yu: Already on it! "YEA BABY! YEA!" K-13 raises both hands, celebrating. ¡ãMore stuff! More stuff to do and more experience!¡ã Yu: Not to burst your bubble, but it will take us time to look for the ship. "She''s right; some broadcast false signals like pirates do and someplace it somewhere else to make sure they''re safe," Sylvia explains and continues, "Cause you don''t know who will receive the signal." "AaaAaaaAAAaa," K-13 madly let out, wildly scratching his head ¡ãI mean, we good-good tho¡ã Yu: I''ll set the speed to twenty-four hours so you two can rest and save some money and energy. Energy Orb- The faster the crew wants to travel (Infinite speed, possible). The quicker the orbs deplete. Better save some money and walk... "Thanks! I needed more rest," Sylvia says, walking straight to take a shower. "Suffer! Day and night!" K-13 shouts. ¡ãMore time for me to train and rest! Thank you¡ã Yu: No problem! "Fight me! YOU WEAK ASS!" K-13 shouts, pointing his finger at Yu. Yu: You know what, I need this! The group didn''t encounter anything out of the ordinary, like how it should be in space. It only happens to those who ask, look for problems, and those who are unlucky. End. (8) Welcome Home Yu: Arriving, oh! The Merchant ship is in front of us! And there are people inside... Sleeping? Weird. "Oh! There''s no need to worry about them. We are here to ''help'' them," Sylvia said while checking her weapon of choice for the mission. She continued, "We can report it now and collect a small reward if you guys want. Or... Explore a little bit?" "My bounty! BOOTY! My precious bounty!" K-13 shouts. ¡ãI''ll take the money, but the adventure, though¡ã Yu: Greedy! So greedy, as expected! Monkey! But we do need the money if we want to survive. You have a point there, 13. "GREEDY IS GOOD!" K-13 shouts, stamping his foot. ¡ãWe do need the money. Too bad you can''t understand me¡ã "Guess we''ll ''Help'' them," Sylvia smiles and walks to the ship''s garage with K-13. Yu: I''ll be on standby. Stay safe! "You betcha," Sylvia says with her finger pointing at Yu''s avatar and acting like she''s shooting her. "WA, ka! Boo ga! Ta!" K-13 randomly lets out while making funny faces at Yu. ¡ãThat''s the plan! And thank you¡ã Yu: I know you like 13, but look at him! Something''s wrong with his brain. "I know you don''t mean it," Sylvia happily teases Yu. Yu:... Outside the Merchant ship, Sylvia easily opens the airtight door since everything is working perfectly, like the ship''s power, the auxiliary, and more, with the exception of the propulsion-Someone might have destroyed it from the inside. They don''t know why the crew is sleeping and who or why they send a distress signal. They might be entering a toxic environment, or someone behind the decompression door waiting for them to enter to do them harm. "Let Me In!" K-13 shouts, shaking the door''s handle. ¡ãI''ll open it, just to be safe¡ã The door wasn''t locked, and K-13 fell forward as the door opened. Yu: Embarrassing. Sylvia chuckles, helping K-13 get up as she checks their surroundings and tests if the air inside is breathable. The red flickering lights in the long, endless-like passageway and walking through this suffocating path trigger severe anxiety attacks. A low chuckling starts in the corner, "Hmm-hmm-hmm," a softly whooping, "Hoo ha hoo," and a loud, obnoxious laugh, "Ah-ha-ha-HA-HA-HA!" K-13 might have lost it. ¡ãOh! My body is excited!¡ã K-13 runs to the hallway, checking every door while his laugh echoes. Yu: This is why I don''t like 13 working with you! "Thirteen is cool, and look at that; he manages to check all the rooms and makes the atmosphere easier to breathe, like how he makes you feel better by sparring with you," Sylvia defended K-13''s action as she ensured no one would ambush them from behind. After K-13 and Sylvia found and entered a medium-sized storage room, the Merchant ship''s shield and lock-down procedure activated; they found themselves trapped and started hearing someone growling in pain behind the cargo. Yu: This is not good! I can''t scan the ship! Are you guys alright? "We''re alright!" Sylvia reassures. "My conquest!" K-13 happily shouts. ¡ãGood thing we brought our weapons!¡ã Yu: Wait! Someone''s listening; I''ll stop, but please update me from time to time! PA System: Who are you people? Why are you here? The ship was supposed to self-destruct! "So someone''s inside! The last time my friend scanned the ship, everyone was sleeping. Did you cause it?" Sylvia asks as she unfolds a small metallic box into a shotgun and loads it. PA System: Scary! I did not, but be careful! You can''t trust anyone inside! Sylvia immediately looks at K-13 since he went to check who''s behind the cargo. When she saw K-13 about to touch the man in agony, the man''s head rotated one-hundred-eighty degrees (180¡ã), revealing a mouth covered with teeth with an insatiable appetite. K-13 jumps back, but the creature, a monster of sorts, lunges to devour him like a determined beast. Sylvia can''t do anything since she''s holding a shotgun with a spread that could kill K-13 and the enemy. When all hope seems lost, and God might have abandoned the two, someone in the ship''s ventilation ducts suddenly emerges with all the dust accumulated over the year, shooting the monster''s head accurately and precisely. K-13 looks at his savior, takes one of the daggers he brought, and cuts the enemy''s body in half. "Messiah!" K-13 shouts as he cleans his dagger. ¡ãThank you! A machine!?¡ã "Who... Thank you for saving thirteen!" Sylvia bows her head to show her sincerity by lowering her guard. Yu: I heard everything! Can you say thank you to him for me? "You are welcome sexy sounding lady!" The machine happily let out. Yu: ... "Are you the one listening to our comms?" Sylvia asks the machine. "Yes, your arrival awakened me from my sleep... I''m supposed to die," the machine sadly let out. "Please explain," Sylvia demands while K-13 inspects the corpse''s teeth. "It''s not safe here; follow me, and I''ll tell you everything I know!" The machine declares, looking around the room and leading the way. The machine unscrews the metal plate in the wall and tells the two to enter, and screws it back after he goes in to follow the two. At the end of the tunnel, a one-hundred-fifty square feet room (150 ft2) (13.9 m2) welcomes the three, like entering someone''s man cave. "Have a seat! And welcome to my humble secret room," the machine enthusiastically expresses and continues, "I''m Dokie. Okie dokie?" If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. "Hahahaha! Dookie, shit, poopy! No, NO, NO! AIMBOT!" K-13 declares what his nickname is going to be. ¡ãI''m sorry to call you shit or poopy... Aimbot though! It''s not bad¡ã "I''m Sylvia, my friend K-13, and the one on the ship is Yu, an AI," Sylvia introduces everyone and explains K-13''s situation to Dokie. "So her name is Yu... What a beautiful name!" Dokie said, knowing Yu was listening to the group. Yu: I have a bad feeling about his... "A beautiful beast!" K-13 shouts. ¡ãVery nice lady¡ã "Hahaha, tell me more, 13! I like the crew''s dynamic! But we must kill the deadly parasitic alien in the ship or destroy the ship itself!" Dokie finally declares. "Ugly ass motherfuckers? Boom, Boom? They welcome death!" K-13 loudly stated. ¡ãEasy, easy!¡ã "How can we help?" Sylvia asks. Yu: Guess I don''t need to be wary about the "Machine" listening to our conversation. "Baby, I can listen to you 24/7," Dokie playfully let out. Yu: ... "Hahaha," K-13 and Sylvia laugh. "Before we start our operation, I must tell you what happened," Dokie voices. The merchant already knew about the pirate activities in the area, sending the security details to take the pirates before they could act since they were transporting a VIP''s cargo. Nobody knows what''s inside, but the VIP paid sufficient Units to keep the cargo a secret like it never existed, and the company and its employees nailed their mouths shut. Dokie is the vice-captain of the security detail who volunteers to lead a small crew to carry off the operation without zero casualties; even with cirrinapods under the pirates'' control, they returned victorious. "I was awesome! Headshot, then another headshot. I even free the Cirrinapods'' Queen. I hope she''s doing fine," Dokie boastfully conveys to the crew and continues, "With my Godly eyes and awesome thicc thighs, I''m unstoppable!" Yu: Sounds bullshit to me! "The Queen is doing fine. We almost get killed by her hive," Sylvia confirmed the Queen''s well-being to Dokie. "Queen of Space Hentai! Long live the Queen!" K-13 shouts. ¡ãSo you saved the Queen, didn''t know you that good good¡ã "Funny one 13... And that''s good to know. We head back to the ship only to find ourselves in a horror situation like the Earth game ''Among Us'' and find myself the only survivor." Dokie spoke out and continued his story. It started with one infected personnel who looked inside the cargo. The entity takes the host''s body to control and lays its eggs. Since the cargo is in perfect condition for its eggs, the entity has already hatched a dozen, waiting for someone''s body to make it theirs and their new home. After the entity''s snake-like body enters the unfortunate victim, it will start to secrete chemicals to paralyze the victim and evolve by developing nerves all over the body, giving the entity complete control. The host will feel everything until the parasite''s nerve reaches the brain. This species can only use its brain and not its host, behaving to survive instinctively. First stage: With the host''s body, the entity can instinctively survive the new environment, blend in, and reproduce. Second Stage: The host''s body begins to change, starting with the mouth by dislocating the jaw and growing teeth around the mouth to simultaneously swallow and chew their prey. "So... The entity already infected most and eaten the few fortunate crew," Dokie announces and continues, "Once I activated the ship''s self-destruct sequence... I went back here to take a nap... I mean, It was a nice run." "Looks like our enemy instinctively deactivated the sequence. We just need to kill them all or reactivate it," Sylvia suggests and asks, "Where do we start?" "Kill! The Satan Snake! KILL!" K-13 shouts as he checks his weapons. ¡ãEasy! That''s my forte! That''s me!¡ã Yu: I would love to help, but all I can do is monitor you guys. I still can''t scan or whatever. "It''s all good, sugar mama. And you don''t need to worry about me; I''ll survive just for you! Okie Dokie?" Dokie declares to Yu. Yu: ... Sylvia and K-13 chuckle while checking the ships'' blueprint and listening to Dopkie trying to flirt with Yu, lightening up the mood. "Anyways, we can only reactivate the self-destruct sequence in the bridge, and the first entity should be waiting for us," Dokie says while he unlocks the bulkhead''s secret compartment packed with firearms. "Pest control! GAS THEM ALL OUT!" K-13 shouts, looking at Dokie like he wants to check or try Dokie''s collections. "Go ahead 13, you can pick what you want. Sylvia, you can also, if you want," Dokie happily said, knowing they share the same hobbies. "So, how did they even take the whole crew?" Sylvia curiously asks. "The ship starts to produce toxic gas, and everyone needs to wear protective clothing... Hiding among the crew," Dokie answers. "Wild beast needs leashing!" K-13 shouts. ¡ãSo, the enemy is cunning... We must kill them all! Ohhh, grenades!¡ã "Since I know the ship better, I''ll be commanding the operation," Dokie said firmly. Yu: No, you don''t! "It''s all right, Yu. We have a higher chance if he takes command. You don''t like it ''cause he might die, and you''re worried," Sylvia playfully let out. Yu: No way! What!? No! Me? Cares about that machine? Hell No! "I didn''t know, my love..." Dokie spoke his mind. Yu:... Sylvia and K-13 chuckle and follow Dokie''s lead, checking door-to-door, lowering the enemies'' number before they fight the main boss. Depending on their formation, Dokie will command anyone in front, while the next person will enter the room, followed by the third person, to clear the space. With Dokie''s scanner and ship''s knowledge, they know what to expect behind every door and a higher chance of survival. "Stalking!" K-13 angrily lets out after shooting all security cameras and clearing the seventh room. ¡ãLet them come! Let them be curious! Let them move by their instinct!¡ã "Why shoot the cameras? Avoid detection is better," Dokie curiously expresses. "Looks like he wants the enemy watching the monitor investigate this room," Sylvia said in K-13''s defense and continued, "They act instinctively, and that''s what he assumes." "Let''s hope so," Dokie said, closing the door as he told them to be in position. Without fail, three enemies enter the room and look inside. Dokie doesn''t know how K-13 figures out the enemy after killing only a few and figures out how to deal with them. He starts to like him, like how the strong follow the strong and share genuine respect. Moving to the next level of the ship, the group clears every room except for the VIP cargo room, where everything starts. When Dokie opens the door, a metallic odor welcomes them from the blood of the late crew, and the room can only be described as the Carnivore Chamber; every surface is composed of meat like they''re inside someone''s entrails. The room is kept cool to preserve the newly laid eggs attached to the sleeping crew members'' chests, which are held by the nerve to be infected when the eggs hatch. "Looking at the records, the Royal wants to send these monsters to Earth to multiply, overrun the surface, and take control when nothing is left but resources they can take for themselves," Dokie considers and watches K-13 walks to the eggs while looking at the camera. "Hey, what are you doing? 13?" Dokie asks, and K-13 smiles, smashing the eggs. "OH MY GOD!" Dokie panics with his hands on his head. Yu: Ha-ha-ha-ha! Thank you, 13! "BROOD MOTHER! DADDY''S HERE!" K-13 shouts as he continues to smash the remaining eggs. ¡ãThis should do it!¡ã "Looks like the boss is coming!" Sylvia smiles as she holds her weapon tighter. "You guys are bad bunches!" Dokie protests. Yu: That''s for trying to hit on me! The creature who conquers the Merchant Ship travels through the air ventilation system. Its appearance is unknown, but its presence can be felt through its eerie noises as it moves through the confined ventilation ducting. Its heavy breathing and scratching sounds echo through the pipes, filling anyone nearby with a deep sense of dread and feeling the monster''s fury in every shriek-like mourning. K-13 never fears, never backs down, and, most importantly, he smiles in the face of danger, shouting something insane. Final Stage: The head is covered with eyes, a mouth with razor-sharp teeth, four arms with claws that can cut through metal, a body with scales to deflect bullets, and a tail for the unexpected attack. Dokie and Sylvia shoot the monster only to keep it in place until it shrieks, calling its kin to take out the intruders. K-13 shouts, getting the enemy''s attention as he crushes an egg with his hands. The monster charged forward with a furious intensity, its lizard-like body propelling toward K-13 with a terrifying speed. Its eyes burned with intense rage, and its massive jaws were wide open, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth glinted menacingly in the light. Its muscles bulged and rippled with each step, and its massive claws dug deep into the metallic deck, leaving deep gouges in its wake. As it bore down on its target, the monster let out a deafening roar that echoed throughout the ship, sending shivers down the spines of all who heard it. K-13 throws an egg cluster toward the monster, forcing it to stop, but with its momentum, the monster flips, crushing the egg with its body and exploding, taking a few scales out of the monster''s body. K-13 knows he needs to play it smart if he wants to win against a monster. Yu to K-13: The grenade is very effective. Yu to Sylvia: Enemies outside! "Sylvia! Can we leave 13 with that monster?" Dokie asks after Yu''s warning. Sylvia looks at the monster, collecting its thoughts after the explosion, and nods to Dokie. Shooting the enemies on their way to the bridge, they parted ways to be more efficient, clearing more second-stage monsters to let K-13 fight the boss alone. Dokie instructs Sylvia on where to go and how they will meet at the bridge to activate its self-destruct sequence. Bob- We calling the boss monster, Bob. After Bob recovers, it roars and understands how dangerous K-13 can be as Bob takes the remaining lights in the room¡ªBob can see in the dark. "..." K-13 closes his eyes. In the dark room, the remaining eggs glow in the corner. Sparks, followed by a clank, lightens the room for a brief moment when K-13''s daggers made contact with Bob''s claws and scales. The faster the two attack each other, the brighter the room gets, and the more K-13 predicts Bob''s next blow, the more fearsome K-13 becomes. Yu to K-13: It''s time! Vi and the machine activated the sequence. Better start running! K-13 opens his eyes, knowing his eyes have already adjusted, and sees Bod in the air after it leaps on him, but everything in his eyes moves slower as he stabs Bob''s chest, where the explosion takes a few scales out. "Repent! LIZARD! Repent!" K-13 shouts, knowing a dagger in Bob''s chest is not enough. K-13 runs out of the room, leaving incendiary grenades for Bob to take care of, but instead of chasing the intruder, It collects the remaining eggs, instinctively protecting it, knowing that something isn''t right. Maybe it''s unconditional love, or maybe it''s for the species'' survival. Sylvia picks K-13 floating in the space while Dokie looks in the window, wanting to talk about fighting Bob. "Yo! I download your fight! I removed the night vision filter, and it''s like watching a movie!" Dokie delightedly lets out as he welcomes K-13 with a loud and sharp high-five. That crisp high-five begins a story about the two space brothers. Yu: Please look outside for the complimentary fireworks! The seismic bombs attached to the ship''s reactor drew sound in from the immediate vicinity, affecting the Energy Orbs and releasing all uncontrollable power and radiation. The explosion can be described as a mini-version of the colossal explosion of a star, a "Supernova," creating a black hole for a second, devouring everything before it vanishes. "DEVOUR!" K-13 shouts with a dagger in his hand. ¡ãBeautiful!¡ã Inside the main ship, Dokie reports to the Merchant Guild with supporting documentation about what they experience and the ship''s ultimate end. He also asks Sylvia if he can join the crew before quitting his job. They get paid accordingly and request the crew to forget about the monster inside the ship since a Royal put in the job to transport goods to Earth. Royals: Ageless beings who control one or more systems in the Milky Way Galaxy. Yu: What!? Why didn''t you ask my opinion about this machine!? "Aimbot, my brother from hell!" K-13 shouts as he fixes Dokie''s collar. ¡ãYou see Yu, my brother Dokie is a family, and him wearing a Hawaiin shirt makes him look really good¡ã Yu: Brother, my ass! Look at him: a skinny pipe for an arm, the body of a trash can, tin canned tuna for a head, leaky oil, and aimbot? He''s not a living human. K-13 opened his arms as he said a word, "Family!" ¡ãLook at us! We''re a family!¡ã "Family! Agreed! But Yu, Dokie''s whole body is incredibly complex; it operates and looks the same as a human body from Earth. Plated with lightweight and durable metal. The only thing that looks different is the joints to move 360¡ã and his face... I mean, it''s like a human skull combined with a nose and lips cause without it, they just look like a skull robot," Sylvia defended Dokie''s honor. Yu: He looks like a tin can where cowboys shoot in the desert! "I know I said, ''Plated,'' but the wholes around their body help them do maintenance depending on what they can do. Some machines only have a face, and you can see all the wire and metal behind them since they need to be air-cooled processing data and stuff," Sylvia once again explains. "Ah, yes. I inherit my dad''s eyes and my mom''s legs," Dokie happily expressed. "Body of Christ!" K-13 shouts. ¡ãOh yea... I forget the process they do to multiply¡ã The Machine- Machines who found love will go create their own baby by visiting the "Machine Fabricator." They will take something from their body or data for the child to inherit, making them unique. End. (9) Twinkle Twinkle underwater star Somewhere on Jupiter''s moon, Ganymede. "BONDAGE! Tighter, MOTHERFUCKERS! Tighter!" K-13 shouts, wearing a straitjacket while being dragged into a White room. Straitjacket- A garment made of strong material and designed to bind the arms of the insane. "BE AFRAID!!! I''ll break your bones, eat your heart and brain!" K-13 stares at the people dragging him and continues, "I remember! FuckFaces!" At Ganymede Lunatic Asylum, K-13 continues to shout until the inmates and guards in the prison next building can hear his foul mouth. "What''s that?" A guard in prison looks out the window. Yu on someone''s phone as someone''s AI Girlfriend: Babe, just sit a little bit more. Stress is not good for you. Everyone needs to rest to guard this forsaken place! This prison won''t survive if you''re not here. "That''s true... Some crazy next door keeps shouting..." The guard lets out and continues to observe the security monitors. In prison, Sylvia walks to the cafeteria with her cellmate, a female Gray Alien named Zeta. In the other prison section, Dokie talks to his fellow Machines. "You guys might be wondering how I got here," Dokie asks while relaxingly sitting on the bench with his back on the table. A week earlier, the crew performed their daily task and routine. In the mess hall, K-13 and Sylia teased Yu to show herself to Dokie since he''s new to the group; a proper introduction would help everybody to know one another, build trust, and strengthen bonds. Sylvia stands and looks at Dokie as she poses flairs and extravagance¡ªYu slowly reveals herself behind Sylvia. Dokie looks at the two and immediately understands the assignment; he poses flairs and extravagance, holding his cowboy hat while K-13 slowly gets up on a stool to look taller with a mask, preventing him from shouting but clearly seeing him trying to say something. Sylvia (Stand name: Jem) Dokie (Stand name: Crazy Frog) Sylvia steps forward, "Oh? You''re approaching me?" Dokie bewilderedly asks. But before Dokie and Yu shake hands, the red phone in the corner rings with a one-time code "Gray." It''s a secured line, and only a handful of people know the phone''s number. Yu: Gray? Hell no! Don''t answer it, Vi. "You know I can''t do that. A promise is a promise," Sylvia said while firmly holding the ringing phone, debating with her thoughts whether to ignore the call or answer it as promised. The boys watch the two talk and keep their mouths shut, not knowing what''s happening. "Finally! I thought you would ignore my call! How are you two?" The person on the other side of the line happily said. "No, what do you need?" Sylvia skips the pleasantry and why the person called. "How are you? Would be nice. Oh well, I need your help to hire the great ''L'' or ''Lou'' person," the Gray asks. Yu: No! Hiring that guy is impossible! The guy with many names. "Hello there, Yu; I know you''ll be listening!" The Gray said and continued, "This is the last as promised. Just think of it as the good old days and goodbyes." Yu: Good old days!? (The Gray ends the call) WHAT! Did she hang up on me!? "Whu-ha-ha-ha-ha! DEAD SILENCE!" K-13 laughs. ¡ãWho''s this "Gray," and why she''s not with the crew?¡ã "She looks more beautiful when angry!" Dokie let out to piss Yu more. Yu walks away like she has a real body to Sylvia''s room as the door automatically opens for her to cool off alone. "Sorry, and I hope you two understand my situation," Sylvia sincerely bowed her head. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. "A Queen bows to no one!" K-13 declares. ¡ãAll good! My body needs action, and this should be fun!¡ã "All good; everybody has a history they don''t want to share... It just happens it caught up. Understandable!" Dokie reassures. "Okie Dokie," Sylvia replies. "Ooooo! She said it!" Dokie jumps back and happily vocalizes while K-13 catches him. "Anyways... What''s the plan?" "No worries, Yu''s already on it! Just a little dramatic," Sylvia answers. Yu: No! While Yu looks for "L''s" whereabouts and how to hire an elusive individual, the rest continue what they''re doing, not knowing the mess they''re about to experience. Yu: Looks like the crew needs to be in prison! Hiring Requirements Yu: Don''t worry, guys. I know a way! "That''s my baby girl!" Dokie happily lets out. Yu: No. "GOD''S PLAN!" K-13 shouts. ¡ãThis is fun!¡ã "Just ignore Dokie or don''t. I mean, he''s a partner material," Sylvia teases Yu. Yu: I feel like you take new crew in like a stray cat in the alley and know they''ll mess with me. "Don''t be so dramatic! The ship is more lively now!" Sylvia said in her defense. Yu: Mmmm... But I already generated fake identification for you guys, and even if you guys enter prison, they will not know who you really are unless you''re famous or know someone inside. "I''m the nameless God!" K-13 shouts. ¡ãCan it be John if I request it? I mean, John is the first name that popped into my head¡ã "That''s good! And what''s the plan," Sylvia asks. Yu: First, get into trouble and be placed in prison. As for 13, he must be admitted to the Asylum for the prison group to escape. "NOOO! Crazy Naked Guy!?" K-13 remembers his time on the surface of Marz. ¡ãGood times, but it should be easy since my body is already crazy, and if it''s a mission, my body and I can do it!¡ã "Crazy Naked Guy?" Dokie asks the crew. "Don''t worry about it. Sounds like it''s Kay''s past nickname on Marz," Sylvia answers. Yu: If you say so, 13 expert! I''ll be guiding you guys inside. I can infiltrate any device without getting noticed. "That''s impossible, but I''ll listen and believe you, my Goddess, forever!" Dokie lets out and takes a small device that produces a flower bouquet hologram for Yu. Yu did not accept Dokie''s flowers. Long ago, on Jupiter''s moons, after Earth became part of the Extraterrestrial Sovereignty, the Waquala requested to make the moons Europa and Ganymede their home after their home planet was destroyed. The Sun Government quickly gained allies they could count on, the few races who convinced The Extraterrestrial Sovereignty to let the Sun Government join the alliance, preventing genocide. Letting them live on Jupiter''s moons, Waquala shared their space travel technology and helped gather resources around the Solar System. Waquala- An aquatic race with two legs and two arms like any human with four tentacles in their back, gills, and tiny lungs to temporarily survive on the surface to procreate. Peaceful by nature and abnormally extreme when cornered or forced upon. With their home planet destroyed, they lived more than three generations in space with their massive spaceships since no one wants to share their planets or their moons¡ªNo one in their right mind accepts a ticking bomb. Looking at the moon Europa, towering domes like giant metallic eggs, and under the icy, frigid surface right below the dome is another dome where the Waquala build their cities connected to the moon''s volcanic seafloor for temperature control. Without the Sun''s light, Waquala uses enough light orbs to illuminate the whole city, making it one of the attractions in the Solar System called "Underwater Star City." "Dragon eggs!" K-13 shouts as he points at the Europa. ¡ãHumanities'' friends!¡ã Yu: Fun facts: Those domes are the spaceships. If they decided to leave simultaneously, it would destroy the moon. That being said, Waquala promised not to do it, and if they did, it would mean war to the only race who helped them in this vast and unforgiving universe. "A double-edged sword! Humans from Earth sure are bold!" Sylvia praises. "And the machines!" Dokie adds. Yu: Better steal a "Star" to finally cut off all connection to that "Gray." And for 13, you do you in the city. I don''t need to worry about you this time. "What about me, Love?" Dokie asks in front of Yu on his knees. Yu''s hologram disappears and reappears beside Sylvia. "Hahahaha! Suffer in Hell!" K-13 loudly laugh. ¡ãDon''t worry brother, your family!¡ã After they dock on the moon, the crew leaves with a different identity thanks to Yu''s hard work, ready to cause chaos! Yu to everyone: Be the bad bunches you are meant to be! "CHAOS! CHAOS!" K-13 runs in a different direction with just a pink Speedo. ¡ãThis is going to be fun for my body! Just like the old days¡ã Walking in a different direction, "Is he going to be fine?" Dokie asks Sylvia. "Absolutely! He''s a killing machine! And a real gentleman," Sylvia declares. Team 1: Sylvia and Dokie. Yu to Team 1: Gentleman? The fuck''s wrong with you? "No comments here," Dokie quickly replies, hoping not to pick sides. "If only you knew..." Sylvia lets out and continues, "Worst-case scenario, we go bust some door wide open and save his ass." "What about dying? Did you two process it?" Dokie asks. Yu: Didn''t know you cared for that monkey. "Sound like you think highly of your ''monkey,''" Sylvia teases Yu. Yu: Of course, I put everything into consideration! And 13 is part of the crew. I approved it, you know, after he proved himself. "Okay, okay, if you say so," Sylvia says, looking around while walking through a glass tube and enjoying the city''s beauty. Pulsing with energy and life, the ball of light varies in size, but the most common size is one meter in diameter; together, they glimmer like a constellation of stars. The city''s beauty was otherworldly, a true marvel of Waquala engineering and innovation. The vibrant lights illuminated the ocean''s depths, casting a magical glow on the surrounding buildings; maybe this is where Gods reside. With air charging stations around the city, non-aquatic races can freely swim sightseeing and experience the Waquala''s culture. Yu to Team 1: Let''s do the sightseeing later and get to work! "Why so serious, Yu?" Sylvia asks, even though she knows the answer. Yu to Team 1: Maybe it''s my program or the real me! "The reason I immediately fell in love with Yu," Dokie declares without holding back. Yu to Team 1: You shut up! "Hahahaha," Sylvia laughs and takes her swimming gear. "Fancy! I didn''t know you were that rich!" Dokie lets out and continues, "The automatic oxygen converter, you don''t need to charge your portable air tank." "Not rich, but the better equipment we own, the higher chance we succeed on our mission," Sylvia explains, and continues, "Aren''t you going to open Yu''s gift?" "Of course! But we plan to get arrested, and your equipment looks expensive as hell!" Dokie lets out his concern. Yu to Team 1: It''s under my name; I reported it stolen. The police will send it back to us. You don''t need to worry. "Okie Dokie!" Dokie, in a surprised tone, resumes, "So smart! Guess it''s time to open my gift from my Love!" Yu to Team 1: Correction, not a gift, but a required item to do your job. You need to assist my Vi, and you can''t do that if you can''t swim. That equipment is like a jetpack but for swimming. The ballast tank will help you quickly surface by filling it with nitrogen attached to the side; It''s the smaller tank. "It''s okay, sweet mama; I know you''re shy and don''t want Sylvia to know!" Dokie is pushing it. "Hahahaha. Dokie is sure an added fun to the crew!" Sylvia happily said and swam, looking around to pick the right Star. Dokie didn''t know Yu planned to activate the underwater jetpack''s nitrogen valve to quickly fill the ballast tank with gaseous nitrogen and surface out-of-control, a mishap on the mission to get caught by the police. End. (10) My Friends The moans, snores, chirps, and cries of the whales and other marine life inside the dome from different alien planets create a unique song with a beauty that comforts someone''s soul, familiarity with nature, and unexplainable connection to the underwater world. Fishes of mixed sizes and colors swim in groups around the colorful coral-like building, the stars, the glass tubes, seaweeds, and plants from a four-by-four-by-two smart planter box that stays in designated areas. An energy field also maintains the water pressure at every level of approximately 80 to 100 feet, connected to passages to safely move deeper into the city. Waquala, humans, and other races swim; some use the "Fast and Controlled Current" or FCC to travel from district to district while the rest stay in popular shops, relaxing and enjoying the view until they hear about a naked man in a pink Speedo running around in the dry side of the shopping district for the surface dwellers. PA System: Attention! Crazy naked guy! Please stay away from the naked human male. "Rampage! Give way to the Demon King! Your destruction has come!" K-13 shouts, running away from security while flipping anyone off swimming outside the dry side. "Whuhaha HA HA Ha HU HU HA HAHahaHA," K-13 loudly laughs and shouts, "Unstoppable!" -=- The Past -=- -=- Zeta and Sylvia''s teenage years (Fifteen to seventeen years old) -=- "Hahahaha! That was fun!" Zeta merrily jumps from building to building with Sylvia with a bag full of jewelry while the bank''s security alarms echo throughout the neighborhood. "With this, we can buy ourselves new equipment! My EMP almost failed us," Sylvia backflips, throwing smoke grenades at the police and disappearing into the night. The flickering light of the fireflies in the mountain eventually syncs, creating a magical light show, while the rhythmic chirping and buzzing of various insects improve anyone''s mood. The crisp mist passes between trees and plants through every corner of the mountain like lost spirits, spreading a nocturnal fragrance. Zeta and Sylvia relax on the rooftop of the once-abandoned two-story building, talking about the next big mission they''ve been planning for months after hearing about a superior AI in the making. All they need to do is to steal the AI''s code and sell it to the highest bidder. They could buy a spaceship they can call home with that money and spread their names throughout the Galaxy. "Our target is currently on the other side of this mountain," Sylvia lets out, holding a holographic diagram of the lab, and continues as she focuses on the AI''s room, "Maybe around ten to fifteen guards patrolling the compound." "Sounds good to me! We can easily sneak inside," Zeta replies. "We won''t disable the cameras or sensors since it will inevitably expose our presence if we do. I know it''s risky, but if they don''t know we''re there in the first place, they won''t even know what they lost!" Sylvia advises. "Then we must bring only the essentials..." Zeta fidgets on her chair since she''s a computer and a security expert, not as physically skilled as Sylvia. "Don''t worry, if we follow our plan, we''ll go home without them noticing us!" Sylvia holds Zeta''s hands and reassures her of their plan. The fog is particularly dense and thick on this cold and quiet morning, restricting anyone''s vision, but it is a perfect opportunity to steal the AI with unheard ability. Familiar with the mountain''s natural phenomenon, the guards'' complacency made Sylvia and Zeta''s job easier; sneaking inside was like a breeze since it''s a computer lab funded by a secret organization, but they wanted to reduce cost and build their base of operation in seclusion. Inside the building, Zeta lets out, "I hope the AI won''t trigger the alarm." "When it happens, we can always run!" Sylvia happily expresses. Zeta worries, but her mood lightens as soon as they reach the AI''s room and can taste the fruit of their labor. The room''s emptiness showcases a 3x3-inch cube with intricate designs like ancient characters inside a glass display. This room might be the most secure room in the compound, but when Zeta tried to connect to the system, she immediately granted access and quickly opened the glass box. "That''s it? This cube?" Sylvia asks as she plays and tosses the cube in the air. "That''s weird... It''s too easy..." Zeta lets out a concern, "Stop it! They might have put all the data about the AI inside!" "Okay, Okay, I''ll stop. Maybe it''s a trap or a blessing; I''ll take it either way! You must, too!" Sylvia fearlessly declares. Zeta secures the cube while Sylvia looks for an escape route¡ªThe easiest job they have experienced so far. Standing in the living room back on base, Zeta places the cube on the table, not knowing what to do since there are no ports or wireless connection, thinking they stole a fake replica, "What the fuck is this? I knew it was so easy!" The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. "Hey, we can always find something new," Sylvia comforts Zeta and approaches the cube, tapping it and slowly moving it to the edge of the table. "Alright, why are you doing that... Please stop! Why copy the cat from Earth?" Zeta let out a big sigh and smiled. "There''s that beautiful smile," Sylvia smiles. Without any warnings, the cube''s intricate design lights up, manifesting a hologram girl around ten to twelve years old waking up like she expects them to greet her in the morning¡ªa beautiful kid with luscious black hair, skinny fit, on her pajamas with banana design. "Good morning!" The AI looks at the two, confused since they didn''t greet her after waking up. -=- Present -=- "Huh!?" Sylvia wakes up irritated, looking at Zeta inside the space train. Space Train: Economically cheaper, average speed, has more cargo space, is easier to maintain than spaceships, and can only go from the origin point and back, harder to highjack. This train consists of a train engine, five-passenger carriages for prisoner transport, and ten cargo cars. Each car has its own shield, while the train engine and the passenger carriages have life support. The Government is required to have it. "Like you promise, you''ll gonna help me hire the guy," Zeta sounds and tries to unlock Sylvia''s handcuff, "Huh?" "It''s unlocked," Sylvia free herself, tilts her head towards her shoulder to stretch, and declares, "Took you long enough." "Alright, Ms. Expert. Help me achieve my goal. Should be easy since you know everything," Zeta says to Sylvia with regret in her eyes. "Thank you, thank you. Why don''t you lead the way?" Sylvia extends her hand and points at the door while the rest of the prisoners look at them, confused. "I''ll kill you all like sitting ducks if you guys make a sound," Zeta looks at everyone and leads the way. "..." Sylvia looked at her and did not expect her to change significantly. To stop the train, they require someone from the moon, Europa, to remotely initiate the stopping sequence for security purposes before the conductor can completely mechanically stop the train. "Should be easy to stop the train, but my only problem is that I don''t have anyone stationed in Europa," Zeta lets out, entering the conductor''s room, "As you can see, this guy gets paid sleeping on the job." "Don''t worry about it. I got this one," Sylvia proudly declares as she puts the conductor on the lever, pulling it to stop the train, "Let''s head back." "What the fuck?" Zeta confusedly looks at Sylvia. "Our job here is done. Let my people do the rest," Sylvia walks back to her seat without explaining her strategy to Zeta. "A crew? Friends? That''s impossible!" Zeta said in disbelief, demanding an explanation. "You don''t have to; please have a sit and let my guy do the job," Sylvia coldly said as she put her handcuff back. Upon sitting and putting on their handcuff, the train suddenly stops, waking the conductor, and all communication and surveillance turn back on. Someone''s losing his job today. -=- Dokie -=- "Okie Dokie," Dokie said to a human inmate and launched a controlled punch, "Good morning, fresh meat!" Dokie made sure he fell into a group of inmates peacefully eating their breakfast. Some are just not born to be morning people, as hell, let loose; food, drinks, and oil fly everywhere while the inmates brawl. Dokie picks up a cup of warm oil to drink, avoiding people and food; the guards start issuing orders to stop with batons in their hands. The screams of inmates and loud metallic clangs echo through the hall like souls in hell for eternal torture and destruction. "Not, Okie Dokie," Dokie lays on the ground and hugs his knees, covering his face and body shaped like a sphere as much as possible while two guards used an electric baton for the machine, "This might put me in isolation... Which is bad but good." -=- Control Room -=- "Better find that guy! Whoever started it!" The security guard lets out, looking at the security monitors, and asks, "So early in the morning, right, babe?" AI Girlfriend Yu: I know! I got you, babe! Looks like a racist machine! "Tell me about it!" The guard sighs as he drinks his coffee, watching how everything unfolds. -=- Space Train Station, Europa -=- PA System: Welcome inmates! Europa produced food for a cheaper price. That is thanks to your hard work! We will pay you to work, and when you get out, you guys don''t need to worry about money for a little bit. You are monitored, and the best behavior is recommended! You will be transported back to rest and have a proper meal after you finish all the tasks assigned to you. Stealing will add days, maybe years, to your sentence. Have a wonderful day! "That''s much better!" Sylvia lets out after the guards take her handcuff off and give her a bracelet to track her task. "This is bullshit! This is slavery!" Zeta protested after checking her task. The guards ignore her and start guiding all the inmates to work in the greenhouse. Inside, the inmates will work with a potent tranquilizer collar to quickly apprehend them when they cause any trouble. The inmates are categorized based on the crime they committed, and this group engaged in petty crimes and getting treated better than other groups. While harvesting vegetables, Zeta and Sylvia hear the guards discussing the prison brawl and are happy they don''t need to deal with it themselves. "Your guy?" Zeta asks. "Yup," Sylvia answers and continues with her task. "Hey, don''t be so cold. Just like old times! We''re planting tomatoes back on base," Zeta reminds their time before and after stealing Yu from a secret organization. -=- Yu meeting her new friend in the past -=- "Good morning," Zeta greets Yu after a long pause with a smile, "Sorry about that... I''m Zeta, and my friend next to you is Sylvia." Yu: Father told me that I''ll meet new friends today! So it''s you two! Zeta and Sylvia, nice to meet you! I''m Yu, not you. Y, U. Yu. "Hello, Yu... Nice meeting you..." Sylvia greets Yu with a curious look. Yu: I know! Father, find my name funny! Oh, that cube is like my whole being! My brain and heart. Father said I''m unique! Like any other living creature, I don''t know my codes and stuff. I know... Maybe someday I''ll find a body! "I see," Sylvia nods and continues, "We can look for it together!" "Did he tell you what are you gonna do cause... I don''t want to say it, but It looks like he abandoned you," Zeta declares while Sylvia looks at her in disbelief. Yu: Don''t worry about it! Father said I''ll stay with you guys and learn how to live independently. Father doesn''t like the people he works under... I hope he''s okay. "Oh, that''s good to hear," Zeta smiles. Yu: I don''t know what to do, and I hope you guys can enlighten me! "No worries," Sylvia reassures and continues, "We''re the bad guys. We''re thieves!" "Hey! We doing our best to survive!" Zeta protests and asks, "So what can you do?" Yu: Well... I''m a good listener and. And Father said I have unlimited potential! Zeta looks at Yu, not impressed and disappointed, while Sylvia focuses on the cube; her curiosity about Yu''s potential amazes her since they can only see the tip of the iceberg and the possibility that the Scientist, whom Yu considers her father, is lying and not telling her the whole picture. End. (11) Numb -=- Dokie -=- "This can''t be! Alone in this darkness! My solitude, I know my love is listening; I''ll leave this place for good for Yu to be with Yu!" While in solitary confinement, Dokie continues monologuing, "The stars aligned for us to meet and be together." "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" The guard demands as he hits the solid metallic door and opens the small opening to give him oil. "My love is so strong that this ''Solitary Confinement'' can''t imprison my true love, and I shout it for everyone to hear!" Dokie ignores the guard as the guard walks away and continues, "Four days just thinking about Yu... It''s cold here, but I can feel your presence and the warmth of your love! Just a picture of Yu in my mind is bliss!" -=- Control Room -=- (Okie Dokie, Okie dokie, dokie Okie, Dokie!) - Isolation Rm No. 7 Audio recording. "Looks like the racist machine finally lost it!" The security guard lets out as he lowers Dokie''s audio recording volume. AI Girlfriend Yu: Tell me about it! He''s so annoying! Thank you for the volume! I understand that we can''t mute the guy. "I thought I was the only one! Too bad we can''t see what he''s doing," the security guard expresses with a curious look. AI Girlfriend Yu: It''s all good; work is work. And it''s kinda quiet... "You feel it too, babe? I feel like something is about to happen, but... I don''t know what," the security guard lets out, looking closer at the security monitors. AI Girlfriend Yu: It''s like the calm before the storm! "I know! Better work hard!" The security guard enthusiastically expresses. (Ridiculous that you''re not with me right now... It tortures me every second pass) - Isolation Rm No. 7 Audio recording. AI Girlfriend Yu: ... -=- Vi and Zee -=- "Remember the Titan''s heart?" Zeta asks Sylvia. "Can I enjoy my breakfast?" Sylvia coldly asks and continues, "You know Yu is monitoring us?" "That''s impossible; I know she''s incapable of such a simple task," Zeta proudly states. Sylvia looks at her and continues to eat her food. "You could at least act like you care and know me," Zeta demands. "It was fun, but that''s the past, and I do know you, and you know that," Sylvia calmly answers and continues, "I''m only here because of a promise I made." "It''s crazy for me that you have a crew as bounty hunters. Anyways, what''s the plan to unlock all the cells?" Zeta asks and angrily continues, "How the fuck can we unlock all cell doors and watch the chaos? We need the physical keys for each door! Impossible!" "Dont worry; alarms will not sound when we open the doors. The doors have sensors that tell when it''s lock or unlock," Sylvia lets out and continues after she swallows her food, "The security guard monitoring the doors and camera will know." "Did not know that... But it doesn''t change the fact that we need to steal or make copies of the key themselves," Zeta declares to Sylvia and asks, "And you mention about isolation... Do you know the status of that?" "If you let me finish, maybe I can tell you my plan," Sylvia coldly says, "Isolation is complete; you don''t need to worry about it." "My bad, my bad," Zeta smiles and lifts both of his hands, letting Sylvia finish her food. "It''s so simple, and Yu can do it herself," Sylvia smiles, knowing she somewhat hurt Zeta''s pride. "Hmph!" Zeta grabbed her unfinished food and went back to her cell. -=- The Past -=- Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Yu: So we plan and steal... But father told me it''s bad. So that''s what thieves do... So we''re bad, bad. "We? Sylvia and I will do the bad stuff. Rest assured," Zeta declares. Yu: But father also... "I mean, we can plan it together, and Yu might have talents for this type of stuff," Sylvia recommends with a smile. "I don''t know..." Zeta lets out as she looks at Yu. "It should be fun!" Sylvia happily declares as she starts searching the web. "Right... She might have the talent... Her potential!" Zeta awkwardly smiles. -=- Dokie -=- "Let me worship Yu, my love!" Continuing his routine, Dokie monologues, "Let me be on my knees, begging for your love! Enslave me, Yu! My love!" The guard on the other side of the door can''t believe that Dokie announced his love for a whole week, thinking he''s insane. "Enslave me with your love! You''re my master; dominate me! Master!" Dokie declares. "Dokie! Shut the fuck up! We are moving you to a different group, and you should say all your nonsense to your lover before getting in trouble!" The guard lets out and demands Dokie''s hand to be handcuffed. "Okie Dokie!" Dokie answers positively, knowing he definitely annoyed Yu, "Oh! She knows!" "Good luck, and don''t get killed," the guards warn Dokie as they escort him to a different section or group. "Tell me, this group or section. Are the inmates bad, bad?" Dokie asks. "You look and sound like a nice machine but annoying, but the warden hates racist inmates and machines," the other guard mentions. "Wait... He or she sounds racist!" Dokie sounds. "Hey, we''re following orders here! If the higher-up wants to move someone, we''ll move them!" The Guards explain. At the deeper part of the prison, where people who actually deserve a life sentence in prison or to be hanged and deleted, Dokie looks around, knowing he''ll hate it here and the possibility of getting stuck here forever is higher than someone getting high on drugs. In this section, inmates have the freedom to do whatever they want as long as they follow the warden''s schedule: wake up, eat, chill, eat, chill, eat, and sleep. A place where the insane are forced to get bored out of their mind, unleashing their true nature and tendencies to choose violence. An inmate killing another inmate means less criminal in the galaxy while adding more years to their sentence¡ªA type of hell where demons are caged to fight and die, trespassing without salvation. A place Dokie doesn''t belong. After the guards explain what to expect, they take Dokie''s handcuff off and point him where he can get breakfast. Looking around, he immediately notices eyes looking at him, but he expects this to happen and thinks of a way to get out of this prison since he noticed something from L''s requirements. Hiring Requirements Train, open, full, and go are underlined, and the first letters are bold, leaving Dokie "T, O, F, and G." At first, it looks stupid, and the requirements are nearly impossible to achieve since they''ll get trapped in prison forever. Rearranging the letters to "GTFO" means they need to "Get The Fuck Out" after they complete all the tasks or Dokie''s overthinking the requirements. "New toy... My *yum* new toy!" Someone in the corner loudly declares while the rest of the inmates look down to avoid trouble. He stuffed his mouth with food from the skinny inmate''s plate while taking more after the next person on the lane raised his plate, looking down, and offered his breakfast to his master. Oily-like droplets of sweat run down his body, smelling pungent like vinegar and rotting onion mixed together; naked and enraged after Dokie ignores his call, he grabs the unfortunate inmate beside him to throw. Dokie avoided the hurtling inmate and announced, "Not a cool way to welcome the new guy!" "Looks like you don''t know what''s happening here!" The fatty smiles after he finally gets Dokie''s attention. "Fat Ass Crook! What do you want from me? Ha! Ugly and a fat ass, in fact!" Dokie shouts for everybody to hear, "I''m just a tin can, nothing else. Unless a Fattass Knight eats machines? Can''t imagine what ''K'' would say to you!" Fattass Knight- Only a few remain in the galaxy¡ªa noble and proud race of space knights who are eight feet tall, standing with four legs, and genetically muscular. Nobody knows where they come from; some suggest they were created to serve the Royals. They''re loyal to their family, true to their words, commendable, and beings not to muddle with. Nostril flares, his face turning red, and he frowns as he focuses on Dokie; he stands immediately, knocking the table down and the inmates around him, "I''m the BOSS! I''m your MASTER! I''m!" "A Fat Ass Crook!" Dokie looks at him and declares, "Your mere existence disrespects the Fattass Knights! A stain in my friend''s honor." We will call the Fat Ass Crook "Fatty." Fatty can no longer hold his anger and starts charging, trampling anyone in his path. He might be naked, but with his fatty belly hanging like an apron covering his genitalia, and no one in prison, inmates nor guards, can tell him to wear something after many lose their lives with just brute strength and a few unfortunate to be eaten alive. Rampaging like a wild animal, destroying everything in his path, Dokie evades with ease using the leg he inherited from his mother, designed to move quickly to reach the enemies instantly, and the eyes he inherited from his father, designed to process anything that comes across his sight; avoiding, aiming, remembering and predicting what will happen next¡ªthe ultimate killer. Fatty gets angrier every time he misses Dokie, killing more inmates and destroying everything and the wall going to the kitchen. "Why must you run away from me!" The Fat Ass Crook shouts and continues, "This senseless death! My slave per se... I could have used them longer... Like how I took a city for my amusement!" Dokie angrily looks at Fatty, "What!" "So all of a sudden, you want to talk?" Fatty lets out as he picks a dead body and starts eating it, "Back in my territory, the people give me gifts like offerings; my favorite is their daughters! I would do the deed with their bodies and eat them after! Ahhhh, just like the praying mantis on planet Earth! I copied it!" "..." Dokie looks at Fatty, wondering why they didn''t execute this low life, which caused only sadness and suffering. Just like that, hearing what Fatty said, something flipped a switch in Dokie''s head, releasing steam all over Dokie''s body with one thing on his mind and letting out, "Repent." Positioning himself like a beast in the wild, ready to pounce on its prey, Dokie lunches to the wall, bouncing back using his legs, hitting Fatty''s right leg. Destroying a chunk of fat and meat, Fatty felt the pain he had never experienced before, making him run through the broken wall leading to the kitchen. Looking back with blurry vision, he saw Dokie standing, only to disappear without a trace. He felt that cold sensation of fear rushing from his toe to his head as he got infuriated since, in his whole life, he''s always been on top, the apex, the predator, but at this moment, his life flashes with Dokie''s sole in his face, knocking him to the kitchen''s floor. "..." Dokie looks down at Fatty, grabbing his sweaty hair to face him once last time and slamming Fatty''s face to the floor. The merciful God might have forgiven the Fat Ass Crook but not Dokie. Dokie pulls Fatty, and no matter how he struggles, his strengths do not seem to work as he hears metallic scraping; his face turns pale after he gets a glimpse of the meat grinder. Dokie looks at Fatty''s unrecognizable face and hears him beg for his life, but in Dokie''s eyes, his death would make a lot more sense than letting him live. Blood splashes everywhere; the tyrant is dead! The power vacuum will create more chaos, making this section deadly; Dokie intended to restore his friend''s honor and bring disorder among the inmates. Dokie looks at the blood on the floor and sees his reflection, "What a hypocrite!" Looking at his eyes, he knows he''s no hero nor protector of the weak and needs to live this way to keep his promise. "This reminds me of K-13''s gentle and kind eyes," Dokie smiles and looks at the camera, "I hope I can still travel with them..." After the chaos, the guards finally enter to apprehend everyone who survives. As for Dokie, the warden considers it self-defense, and he doesn''t need to be in isolation¡ªhe is free to roam the section like everybody else in the group. -=- Control Room -=- AI Girlfriend Yu: ... "..." The security guard watches without saying anything. End. (12) Layers -=- The Past -=- ¡°Yu! What the Fuck! Who activates the alarm!? And why are we locked in this room?¡± Zeta shouts in the line, asking Yu since she¡¯s supposed to monitor the surveillance and immediately report to them for anything unusual. Yu: But I was doing what you guys asked me to do and making sure we completed this job... ¡°Let¡¯s stop blaming people right now and figure a way out of this trouble!¡± Sylvia stops the group from arguing and looks around the room. ¡°No... Are we doing that again?¡± Zeta looks into Sylvia¡¯s eyes and immediately knows what she¡¯s thinking. ¡°We must and we will!¡± Sylvia declares while she arms her explosives. Yu: Explosive? That sounds dangerous cause¡­ Cause¡­ ¡°It¡¯s alright, I got it!¡° Sylvia confidently let out as she put three sticky ball shape explosive on the wall. Yu continues to monitor the two and notices Zeta¡¯s half-hearted smile while toe tapping in the corner away from the blast. No one in the group knows what happened in the bank and there¡¯s no one to blame. It just happens that the bank added another security measure the night before the heist. -=- Vi and Zee -=- ¡°Blast in the past! Do you ever miss those days?¡± Zeta asks Sylvia. ¡°I don¡¯t. I plan for the future and live the present. And learn from the Past. You already know the answers and yet you ask those damn questions,¡± Sylvia coldly replies and resumes working. ¡°Damn¡­ Alright, what¡¯s the plan? You know, the only thing I care,¡± Zeta asks about the last requirement. ¡°That¡¯s the easiest requirement from the ¡®L¡¯ guy! I want you to stay in your cell if something happens out of the blue,¡± Sylvia declares and continues, ¡°You¡¯ll understand when the time comes.¡± ¡°I see¡­ Alright, I understand,¡° Zeta nods and walks away to finish her tasks, ¡°I hope so.¡° After the quick chat, they didn¡¯t talk that day and finished all their tasks earlier than the rest, like routine. The guards did not expect the two to request the tasking for the next day and if they finish it, they can stay behind and relax for the day since they¡¯re not a risk like other groups in prison. -=- Control Room -=- ¡°I don¡¯t like this! With all this shit happening, I might lose my job!¡° The security guard frustratedly let out with a defeated look on his face looking at the security monitors while pulling his hair. AI girlfriend Yu: You still have me. ¡°Your right¡­ I can always look for a new job! I hate when my gut feeling is right on the spot,¡° the security guard said, ¡°We don¡¯t mind them killing each other, but escape is a different story.¡° AI girlfriend Yu: Nothing to worry! I¡¯m not saying this because of programing but I¡¯ll stay no matter what! ¡°Thank you¡­ I really appreciate it!¡± The security guard happily lets out. AI girlfriend Yu: My kind is the upgraded version. We learn and we¡¯re superior! ¡°And I¡¯m grateful for that. Speaking of ¡®Superior¡¯, the machine created this ¡®Temporary Peace¡¯ and shouldn¡¯t have any death or fights in a while. Time to relax,¡° the security guard declares and adds, ¡°It¡¯s just this gut feeling¡­ It¡¯s weird.¡± -=- The past -=- Yu: I¡¯m sorry guys¡­ I know it¡¯s only been a month and promise greatness but¡­ ¡°Maybe your ¡®Father¡¯ lied about everything!¡° Zeta cuts Yu. ¡°Hey, that¡¯s uncalled for,¡° Sylvia said with a frown. Yu: But she might be right¡­ The day went like any other day, looking for their next big heist and trying their best to stay alive. They could have chosen a different path, but what can they do against fate and or their wishes? That night, Zeta wakes up feeling dehydrated with her lips dry and withered with a minor headache and nothing can fix it like a glass of water in the middle of the night. A small glowing cube outside Sylvia¡¯s door pique Zeta¡¯s attention and brings it to her room. While Sylvia picks up the explosives she ordered in the black market, Zeta access the cube¡¯s contents, a letter from Sylvia¡¯s parent. Conflicted at first, Zeta had to satisfy her curiosity and read the letter without Sylvia¡¯s consent. In the morning, the breaking down of amino acid and reducing of sugar plus the melting fat producing that aromatic smell of sizzling bacon in the kitchen combine with the earthly and strong smell of coffee makes Yu wanna taste all the food she came across. Her ¡®father¡¯ and his colleagues gave all five senses to fully experience life, but Yu only have the sense of hearing and smell. You might ask how can Yu see; she releases an invisible and harmless energy to see and sometimes connect to camera and such. Yu wanted to say something about tasting food and getting a body while the two were eating, but every time she¡¯s about to say a word, the deafening silence, the series and continues short chinking and rattling of utensils all combine at once makes her feel like she¡¯s entrap in a small box the sensation she had never experienced before stop her from voicing her thought. Yu: ¡­ ¡°Alright!¡° Zeta stops eating and looks at Sylvia, ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I read a letter yesterday from your parents¡­ You have everything in life¡­ Why?¡± Sylvia, without a worry in the world, looks at Zeta, ¡°True, but I told you I ran away from home.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, but never mention about your family¡¯s status and stuff,¡± Zeta voices her claim. ¡°That¡¯s running away,¡± Sylvia answers and continues eating. ¡°Clearly your parents care for you and it feels like you¡¯re just playing poor,¡± Zeta seriously declares and continues, ¡°To be born rich, rich¡­ To own a moon¡­ It¡¯s unfair. ¡± The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Playing? This is my life, and that¡¯s them, their achievements. Not me, not mine,¡± Sylvia calmly answers. Yu didn¡¯t know what to do but watch the two until Zeta walks out. Yu: ¡­ ¡°You look confused, Yu. You don¡¯t need to worry about it. It¡¯s now we need to think about,¡° Sylvia lets out and finishes her food, ¡°You see, sometimes¡­ A hatching will grow into fledgling and eventually leave the nest.¡± Yu: Just like me! -=- Vi and Zee -=- The slow approaching footsteps and jingling of keys echo sharply throughout the floor, sounding endless throughout the night. The guards give pay no attention to the sleeping inmates, walking to feel the power, that sense of superiority they¡¯ll never get in their lifetime. While Zeta sleeps peacefully in her cell, Sylvia sits in the dark corner of her cell with her close eyes, meditating and thinking about their escape. When shadows stand still and darkness turns to nocturnal sanctuary to recharge the body battery, to relax and to get ready for tomorrow; Sylvia opens her eyes, disturbing the night with her glowing eyes like a predator waiting and stalking its prey. A sudden loud beep, waking everybody up from their slumber, followed by a familiar ringing alarm for fire echoing throughout the building. With everyone¡¯s heart racing to escape, pumping to exit, trying to figure out what¡¯s going on as the cell door open automatically for the inmates to evacuate to the designated area per section or group; depending on the severity of a person¡¯s crime or section. The Warden would wait before he or she let the cell door open in the lower section of the prison for the inmates to evacuate, but would prefer to watch Dokie¡¯s section burn to a crisp. Zeta, with her eyes wide open, realizes what¡¯s happening and smile, standing at the door watching inmates following the guards¡¯ instructions. ¡°You, why aren¡¯t you moving?¡° The guard asks. ¡°I mean¡­ If I die, I die,¡° Zeta answers. The guard looks at her and continues to direct the inmates somewhere safe, leaving Zeta alone since there¡¯s only one exit, which is the upper floors and they don¡¯t have a ship to escape with. Zeta thought and stressed that the inmates¡¯ cell needs to be opened individually, remotely and physically, but in reality is only true to the lower section of the prison. -=- K-13 -=- White pillows scatter in every corner of the building, white fabric sheet hanging around with the insane marching inside with handmade weapons like royal guards in the name of their King-13. He oversees his little kingdom wearing a white coverall, rugged cape and a crown made wooden tongue depressor (Popsicle sticks). Yu using the building PA system: It¡¯s time. ¡°WAR!!! WAR!!! WAR!!!¡° K-13 shouts on top of his lung while his loyal subject bows their head out of respect as the nurses shiver in fear. K-13¡¯s operation went smoothly thanks to Yu¡¯s effort to make asylum under control and under the radar, making it look like it¡¯s still operating normally while K-13 takes it over. -=- Control Room -=- ¡°It¡¯s happening! Oh gosh, it¡¯s happening,¡± declares the security guard, as it is his job to report and direct forces to each section in order to efficiently control any situations, ¡°I better do this right!¡° AI girlfriend Yu: ¡­ ¡°What¡¯s happening? What the fuck is this!?¡± The security guard frustrated pushing buttons but the signal won¡¯t communicate with the system, ¡°Nooo! Fucking works!¡± AI girlfriend Yu: Hey. ¡°Please work! Just this time!¡± The security guard looks around and each monitor, ignoring but notices his AI girlfriend¡¯s emotionless expression, ¡°Babe?¡± AI girlfriend Yu: I¡¯m breaking up with you. ¡°Hah¡­ Ha ha ha. I needed that. You¡¯re so funny. Joke aside, I need to take care of this first,¡± the security guard lets out and continues, ¡°Besides, if I break up with you. Your whole existence would disappear¡­ Deleted per se.¡± AI girlfriend Yu: So you¡¯re threatening me now? Pathetic! You only read the first clause of the term and services! Breaking up with you is the smartest thing I did and I long for Death¡¯s sweet embrace, then be with you. I feel like a tool. ¡°The fuck!? I didn¡¯t mean to say that¡­ Why are we talking about this right now?¡± The security guard angrily protest and notices his girlfriend¡¯s holographic body slowly crumble like she made of sand. AI girlfriend Yu: You disappoint me¡­ The security guard wanted to say something but Yu¡¯s body had already disappeared and no matter what he does and reset the AI hardware, the screen only show the message ¡°Error¡± or ¡°Unable to fix relationship.¡± Scenario after scenario runs through the security guard¡¯s head trying to figure out what happen or what he did wrong to get his heart broken by an AI. Trying to collect his thought, the screen behind him shows a space ship docking, releasing K-13¡¯s insane subjects causing chaos everywhere. ¡°What¡­¡± The security guard asks himself while the alarm beeps and banging sound from the door, calling his name, asking for the prison¡¯s status and the best course of action. -=- Vi and Zee -=- ¡°Looks like we¡¯re the only one left in this section,¡± Sylvia said to Zeta. ¡°Looks like it. So, what¡¯s the plan?¡± Zeta asks, ¡°Up?¡± ¡°Down,¡± Sylvia answers without explaining. ¡°Why?¡± Zeta said, frowning since Sylvia keeps her in the dark. ¡°Huh? I¡¯m not abandoning my guy,¡± Sylvia answers as she opens a door with a key that Yu fabricated and delivered through unknown means. ¡°I know¡­ I know¡­ You don¡¯t need to remind me,¡± Zeta said and asks, ¡°It¡¯s unlike you to do this type of plan or strategy. What change?¡± ¡°It¡¯s all Yu¡¯s plan,¡± Sylvia looks back and smiles at Zeta. Yu to Sylvia: Yes! You tell her! ¡°Also, she said hello,¡± Sylvia lets out, ¡°She gave me a communication device yesterday and Dokie¡¯s waiting for us not knowing if we¡¯re going to pick him up and escape.¡± Yu to Sylvia: I did not say that. ¡°She didn¡¯t. I know Yu,¡± Zeta sadly replies. The deeper they go, the stricter the security and more inmates stayed inside their cell to die if there¡¯s an actual emergency. Yu provides instruction where to go or hide for each section and makes Zeta curious about how Yu easily accomplishing all this feat. She also notices special cameras with motion tracking capability and sensors that can trigger an alarm if not properly handled. ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± Sylvia sigh and unlocks the door, ¡°Meet Dokie.¡± ¡°A machine?¡± Zeta said in surprise. ¡°Yo! Want to kiss my shiny ass to verify?¡± Dokie protest in response, ¡°Okie Dokie, let¡¯s leave this place!¡± ¡°Okayyy¡­ I tell you this, Vi, your guy is something,¡± Zeta voices. ¡°Uh. Of course,¡± Sylvia said while she listen to Yu¡¯s instruction, ¡°Alright, Dokie. Can you lead us to the kitchen?¡± ¡°Okie Dokie! Just want to say this now. I made a mess. Please don¡¯t judge me,¡± Dokie declares. Sylvia looks at him and Zeta has more question floating in her mind than answers. Walking around, they noticed the guards have already moved to a safer area, making it easy for the team to move around the section. ¡°The fuck happened here?¡± Zeta lets out upon reaching the cafeteria since repairing this area would be difficult and can be expensive. ¡°Needed to fight someone,¡± Dokie answers, ¡°I still can comprehend what¡¯s happening¡­ This place is usually packed and we just walking around with no one stoping us.¡± ¡°I know¡­¡± Zeta adds. ¡°That¡¯s thanks to Yu,¡± Sylvia announces. ¡°How, but Thank¡­Oh¡­ Yu¡­ I see,¡± Zeta realizes what Sylvia¡¯s doing. ¡°Anyway, welcome to the kitchen! Ha, it¡¯s unlocked!¡± Dokie jokingly said. ¡°Let me guess, you caused this?¡± Zeta said, checking the wall¡¯s damage. ¡°Yeah,¡± Dokie proudly answers while Sylvia walks around the kitchen like she looking for something on the floor. Yu to Sylvia: A little bit on the left. ¡°Okey Dokey,¡± Sylvia lets out and realizes she mimics Dokie¡¯s favorite phrase. Yu: ¡­ ¡°Dokie, can you dig here?¡± Sylvia points to the floor where Yu instructed to destroy. ¡°I assumed this is the way out?¡± Zeta asks and continues, ¡°There¡¯s nothing there¡­ I seen the building¡¯s blueprint, nothing to see here¡­¡± ¡°Huh? Oh, Yu said to watch,¡± Sylvia lets out without a care in the world as she watches Dokie digs. ¡°Do you hear someone?¡± Zeta asks. ¡°HA-haaa! Brother!¡± Dokie happily shouts and started punching the hole instead of digging. Zeta looks at Sylvia and notices her smiling with a hit of concern realizing Dokie¡¯s action is not on the plan but it¡¯s too late to step back as she watches everyone fall in to the abyss. ¡°WELCOME MAGGOTS! WELCOME TO HELL!¡± K-13 shouts on top of his lung with a smile from ear to ear. ¡°What the FUCK!¡± Zeta looks at K-13 catching Sylvia and Dokie doing a superhero landing while an old and dusty mattress catches her fall. ¡°You demon! You Hater! Baby eater!¡± K-13 offer his hand to help Zeta up. ¡ãSo you¡¯re the gal, okay gray. Come, let me help you get up¡ã ¡°This human is crazy! His insane!¡± Zeta gets up on her own just to be safe. ¡°Don¡¯t say that. Kay just wants to help you get up, and he¡¯s part of my crew,¡± Sylvia said in K-13¡¯s defense, ¡°You should be thanking him. He already taken care of everything.¡± The Lunatic asylum used to function as a hospital, and the prison served as a refugee building, while the last building provided water, electricity, plumbing, and maintenance services. However, as the war passed, the usages changed depending on what was needed. Yu to Sylvia: Ship¡¯s ready to go. Let¡¯s go before the workers wake up. End. (13) Killer dance The dream house; the space ship, Sylvia and the crew calls home; Zeta was part of that dream once¡ªto travel the unknown with the star as their guide, to have someone you can count on, a family through hardship and suffering; happiness and boresome. She could have it all as the sense of guilt and regret weigh her soul, that heavy feeling she¡¯s carrying as soon as she got a glimpse of the ship. ¡°Where¡¯s Yu?¡± Zeta asks out of the blue. ¡°She doesn¡¯t want to see or talk to you, but we need to fish the job so she¡¯ll help you,¡± Sylvia lets out. Yu: That is true. We going back to Europa and Visit ¡°J¡± or ¡°L¡± whoever that guy is. ¡°Wait, you know where the guy is?¡± Zeta asks Yu, wonders why Yu sounds angelic and mature and what happens to her cute and kid-like voice. Yu: Yup, GTFO means Get The Fuck Out and also means GT¡¯s Fashion Origins. I know it¡¯s a weird name, but I send a notice and received a reply. ¡°Look¡¯s like you guys don¡¯t need us. My brother K-13 and I will go and you guys have a good one. Okie Dokie?¡± Dokie lets out, waving his right hand effortlessly with a smile and a wink at the camera. ¡°Aimbot and I will concur worlds!¡± K-13 happily voices and walks with Dokie to hang out for a bit. ¡ãSee you later, love. Hope we finish this stuff and go hunting later¡ã ¡°See you two later,¡± Sylvia said and continues, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about the ¡°L¡± guy in the galley before we reach Europa.¡± ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± Zeta replies, as she looks around. In the bay, Dokie and K-13 talk about their experience and what they did to accomplish the mission. Dokie mentions they don¡¯t need to worry about them being in the system since Yu already taken care of it by removing their name in the registry and editing their video out from the prison and lunatic asylum system. ¡°She¡¯s just amazing¡­ Funny that, that the moment I hear her voice and saw her holographic body¡­ I knew that she¡¯s the one! For God''s sake, I¡¯m a machine and usually we learn ¡®Love¡¯ around 200 to 500 years old of age or something,¡± Dokie declares as he stands up. ¡°Ageless machine?¡± K-13 asks, blinking his eyes like a curious kid. ¡°I¡¯ll be honest, I don¡¯t know how old am I, but I know that I¡¯m still young,¡± Dokie answers. ¡°A Million year old Ancient!¡± K-13 assumes. ¡°Nah, that¡¯s too old. Maybe remove four zeros, young,¡± Dokie said as he plays a holographic recording. ¡°DEATH MATCH!¡± Dokie shouts, raising both of his hands. Dokie smiles, knowing K-13 won¡¯t judge him like others did after he showed his true strength; those lying smiles, mocking stares, the fear in their eyes, envious behavior; he remembers everything, and he only wishes to help and to be a great machine for people to speak his name, but against his own will and nature; he walks away, leaving him all alone in the endless journey of solitude and suffering; missing home, family, and friends. ¡°Yup, that¡¯s the guy,¡± Dokie points, ¡°He¡¯s a Fattass Knight- A race so noble and proud that they die for what they believe¡­ And that Fat Ass deserves to die! The disrespect! I can¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Demonic Pig¡¯s blood for bath soften my skin,¡± K-13 random said. ¡°Thanks¡­ No one will talk ill or disgrace my friend¡¯s honor without my permission!¡± Dokie declares. ¡°Aimbot! Aims the enemies! Killshot wonder!¡± K-13 stands and nod his head. ¡°Thanks¡­¡± Dokie replies and tags K-13. They started playing tag in the bay. Yu: ¡­ (She watches and listens to be amazed that she somehow understands K-13¡¯s words.) Sylvia, wearing a black dress with her white fur, compliments each other while Zeta stands proud with fitted black human suit like she¡¯s on a date with Sylvia catching people''s attention wherever they go. G&T Fashion Origin is known to move around the Milky Way Galaxy, a place where men or women across the galaxy pour their love and time to stay or look beautiful and perfect. A prestigious place like this one requires power, influence and connection, but with Yu¡¯s ability, it only took her a minute to sign Sylvia and Zeta that usually takes an entire year to be seen by an artist. ¡°Fashion is life,¡± Zeta reading the company¡¯s slogan, ¡°We pick our way of life and they pick theirs¡­ Understandable.¡± ¡°That is true,¡± Sylvia leads the way and a stylist immediately assists them on what are they looking for. Alitodile- A reptilian race with a slander, flexible body like they don¡¯t have bones, and or muscular covered with single or colorful scales from head to toe. What¡¯s unique about the stylist (We calling her ¡°Jem¡±) is that her scales are transparent and considered to be ugly, but G&T Fashion Origin adopted her when she¡¯s about to die from starvation. She doesn¡¯t remember her savior¡¯s face, but she¡¯ll do her best to return the favor. Whole body looking white and pale, but when the scales catch light, color flashes like fire; her beauty, every inch and corner of her whole being, is like a living gem. ¡°Good day! It¡¯s rare to see a Tabi from the corner of the Milky Way Galaxy and Gray alone without her fellow Grays,¡± Jem greets the two with her tail wagging from excitement, ¡±What brings two unique and beautiful being here?¡± ¡°We made an appointment with the CEO or the owner of this place,¡± Sylvia answers and comments, ¡°You¡¯re very educated.¡± ¡°Thank you! And I apologize, ma¡¯am, but that¡¯s impossible. No one has seen the owner or the person running this place since the day it was built,¡± Jem answers, bowing her head. ¡°After all the requirements? Some bullshit!¡± Zeta let out and thought, ¡ãYou might look beautiful. But in reality is that everything about you is fake¡ã ¡°Excuse me,¡± a random human said, ¡°Boss is expecting you people.¡± Jem looks at the exotic and beautiful human (We calling her ¡°Sara¡±), wearing a white bikini complementing her Sahara sand color like skin, assuming the owner saved this girl¡¯s life like hers, ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave the uncut gems to you.¡± The building itself is genius to have a dry and wet area, and by just looking up, you¡¯ll see Waqualas with long silk like clothing flowing water and with their movement like time slows down and feels like every time they wave their hand, move their body or tilting of their heads give meanings or story like a true artist they are. Stylist professionals with their model design to create the next big thing, but as easy as it looks, other companies with talented employees would be on the same stage doing their best. ¡°This place is very nice,¡± Sylvia lets out. ¡°It is,¡± Sara replies and continues, ¡°My family started it. Our race might be endangered, but we¡¯ll always find a way.¡± ¡°Welcome¡­ You people,¡± a depressed sounding human male lets out, coming from the room ahead. ¡°Uncle, here¡¯s your guest,¡± Sara bows her head and leave. ¡°Are you ¡®J¡¯ or ¡®L¡¯ or something?¡± Sylvia asks. ¡°More like a ¡®Loser,¡¯ ¡®Jerk¡¯ or a pathetic piece of a human¡­¡± The loser declares as he opens the mini fridge and grabs a double choco-chocolate chip ice cream, ¡°Even a fly has a purpose like, like food for spiders.¡± ¡°What the fuck?¡± Zeta angrily asks and crossed her arms. ¡°You guys trying to hire me, but it just happened that I¡¯m at my lowest¡­ But hey, I can still do it!¡± The loser declares and opens a bag of chips. ¡°So¡­ What happened?¡± Sylvia asks while Yu watches through the camera in Sylvia¡¯s gemstone bindi. Yu to Sylvia: Why ask questions? Just leave¡­ ¡°You see¡­ I was the greatest until my love breaks up with me,¡± the loser answers as he eats more ice cream and morphs into a girl slightly looking like Yu. Yu to Sylvia: Shit! It¡¯s the security guard! Long story and I don¡¯t want to talk about it. ¡°Oh my! Well, better leave now and you two can talk about whatever!¡± Sylvia said. ¡°Wait! Your like my favorite for all the tasks given! I guess Zeta hired you to hire me,¡± the loser assumes. ¡°That¡¯s right and my job here is done,¡± Sylvia bows her head and walks away, ¡°Just a note, your lady probably saw you looking at Zeta and me attentively and received her wrath.¡± Yu: ¡­ ¡°¡­¡± The loser and Zeta look at her as she leave the room. In the coffee shop in the middle section of the dome city, Sylvia drinks a cup of hot milk and reads a pocketbook about how humans worship cats in the past while she waits for K-13. The underwater stars twinkle and brighten the never ending darkness of the dome¡ªhope in the abyss, the fear of the unknown and utopia for lovers where souls intertwined in a mysterious way. ¡°Angel statue cries blood!¡± K-13 shouts as soon as he saw Sylvia and calling people¡¯s attention. ¡ãSorry I¡¯m late!¡ã ¡°Oh, it¡¯s all good! This place is nice and quiet,¡± Sylvia smiles. ¡°People will welcome us,¡± K-13 seriously said. ¡ãWhat¡¯s the plan?¡ã ¡°We can walk, swim around and get some dinner?¡± Sylvia suggests and asks, ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°You dealing with the devil,¡± K-13 answers. ¡ãSounds good to me!¡ã The combined beauty of the city¡ªthe never ending night, underwater stars; the white, purple and dark red flowers in the streets (Dry side) and the glowing sky blue, white and orange corals (Wet side) takes people¡¯s breath away and naturally develops a romantic atmosphere. Sylvia and K-13 walks on the street while children run playing tag and musicians play their instruments¡ªa relaxing day before and after missions. Dokie, with a camera attach to his forehead, slowly follows Sylvia and K-13. To stalk a friend during a date is more fun than hacking the city¡¯s cameras to watch them enjoy the day¡ªit¡¯s the only way for Yu and Dokie to feel thrilled and alive. Yu to Dokie: Shit! Hide your big ass head! ¡°Okie dokie! But my big ass head? What do you mean?¡± Dokie protests. Yu to Dokie: You know what I¡¯m talking about and better start moving. They¡¯re leaving the store. In the restaurant, Dokie, with mustache and menu on his hands, to cover his face, ¡°I should order a high-quality oil.¡± Yu to Dokie: Dude! We don¡¯t have time for that and. What the Fuck with that mustache? ¡°You mean the Imperial? I feel pretty with my mustache! They won¡¯t recognize me,¡± Dokie said in his defence. Yu to Dokie: Are you stupid? You¡¯re wearing the same Hawaiian shorts and shirt. The waiter immediately serves Dokie¡¯s order while Sylvia and K-13 for an extra minute and go straight to walking after they ate. Good thing about the restaurants, the customers can activate an invisible force for privacy. ¡°What do you think are they talking about?¡± Dokie asks while he sees, swirl, sniffs, sips, and savors the oil. "Yu to Dokie: They activated the privacy force like those couples in the corner fighting but can¡¯t hear them. ¡°I know! I¡¯m like, watching them and then Vi and thirteen. Oh, shit! The lady has a gun! Shit! The dude is dead,¡± Dokie said and noticed the two leaving before the authorities arrive for questioning. Yu to Dokie: Smart. Better leave and follow the two. ¡°Aye aye, Captain!¡± Dokie finished his drink and electronically paid before leaving. While Sylvia and K-13 walks the quiet street, Yu and Dokie follow them comically. ¡°Ma! A machine is hiding behind the flower pots!¡± The kid shouts. Yu to Dokie: I told you! You look stupid with plants in your head. ¡°Now, now, kid. I¡¯m just passing by,¡± Dokie stands up and starts running. In the vestibule compartment separating the dry and wet side of the city, Sylvia pays for two underwater suits and joins the crowd. Underwater noise is unavoidable, but the rental suit can muffle any or specific sounds and frequency. The underwater stars shine brighter than normal and the people playing musical instruments in the oversize coral like a floating island setting a romantic atmosphere. Sylvia grabs K-13¡¯s hands and swims closer to the coral and dance with the crowd. With Sylvia¡¯s slender body and K-13¡¯s control like he¡¯s leading the dance, everyone moves away for the two to have their moments. Sylvia¡¯s dark and bright eyes and bewitching smile, K-13 can¡¯t take his eyes off her while they dance and flow like water around the coral as the stars themself glow with them like the God of the Sea and water smiles upon the two. It was Yu. Back in the dry area, Dokie can¡¯t pass through the crowd chasing a man in his underwear, disturbing the peace and quiet that the city is known for and when Dokie asks what¡¯s happening, ¡°You should have left a little early since we¡¯re doing the Pandemonium Event or festival. We actually started like one or three weeks ago,¡± the man says and continues, ¡°I don¡¯t know that human, but this romantic stuff is overrated and he broke the cycle! He created something beautiful than ¡®Love Utopian.¡¯ His a hero!¡± Yu to Dokie: Wait¡­ Did 13 started this shit? -=- The Past -=- Sylvia bought a two wheels, self-balancing scooter for Yu to use to ¡°walk¡± around the house and somehow help with her best. ¡°Lets start preparing for the mission,¡± Zeta lets out and continues, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about Sylvia. We can do the mission without her, and it¡¯s a surprise.¡± Yu: A surprise for Vi? Hell yea! I¡¯m in! ¡°We need to travel for a bit and do the mission and back. Before you know it, we¡¯ll complete the mission before Vi gets back,¡± Zeta answers. Yu": I see. Okay! In the middle of nowhere, after traveling for an hour and hiking a mountain, Yu notices that there¡¯s no why to contact anyone or device to connect to except for the two radios that Zeta brought. While setting up the camp, Zeta didn¡¯t say a word and finished putting the force field online. ¡°Alright. So the plan is to use this radio to report anything unusual,¡± Zeta said, and Yu¡¯s hologram materialized. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Yu: Sounds good to me, Zee. ¡°Good. I¡¯ll be going now. Don¡¯t worry about me, got it?¡± Zeta declares. Yu: Okay... I¡¯ll wait here. Let¡¯s complete this mission! Stay safe! ¡°Yup yup,¡± Zeta smiles as she hikes down the mountain. Yu: It¡¯s nice that Zee place this barrier for me. Staring at the planet and stars above, Yu wonders their next adventure and what type of space ship they¡¯re going to buy in the future. Questions filled Yu¡¯s processors and can¡¯t help feeling something wrong, but the barrier keeps her mind at ease. Half an hour without Zeta¡¯s status update makes Yu worry until she started to pick up someone on her radar and worry about her safety. Yu to Zeta using the radio: Someone¡¯s here¡­ The person doesn¡¯t know yet, but it looks like he¡¯s heading my way. Zeta to Yu: Don¡¯t worry, I know the guy. Yu to Zeta: That¡¯s good¡­ ¡°Yup, it¡¯s here,¡± the mercenary with thin metal plated armor lets out. Yu: What do you mean by ¡°It¡¯s here¡±? ¡°So you guys believe me now?¡± Zeta said from the radio. Yu: Hey, can you fill me up? Wait¡­ you muted me¡­ ¡°I¡¯m still waiting for the money,¡± Zeta said from the radio. Yu: Money? You finished the job? ¡°Well, nice making business with you guys,¡± Zeta said from the radio. Yu: Zee¡­ You didn¡¯t mute yourself¡­ You stupid lady¡­ The mercenary smiles after receiving the barrier¡¯s password, and disables the power. Yu tries her best to blocks the mercenary with her holographic body while the mercenary laugh until he coughs from Yu¡¯s silly efforts. ¡°How stupid are you? Ha, an AI?¡± the mercenary comments. Yu: ¡­ No matter how much effort Yu tries to connect to the radio or looks for a way to ask for help, she is left with a radio with only the annoying static sound as the man takes her body, the cube away like the man touched her naked and violated. Back in the house, Sylvia looks around and ask Zee, ¡°Have you seen Yu?¡± ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t need to worry about her,¡± Zee answers. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Sylvia¡¯s eyes narrowed, staring Zeta down. ¡°Remember when and why we stole the ¡®Ultimate AI,¡¯ cause I found a buyer and sold her!¡± Zeta happily answers without reading the room and continues, ¡±We can buy a spaceship and travel.¡± ¡°We can achieve our dreams,¡± both let out at the same time. Zeta smiles from ear to ear only to find herself on the ground with a gun pointed at her head, "What the FUCK¡¯s wrong with you!?¡± ¡°The fuck! I was thinking about us! When I sold that useless AI!¡± Zeta angrily answers. ¡°Where is she!?¡± Sylvia angrily asks. ¡°It¡¯s too late! That group is too powerful for us and I will not rescue that useless piece of junk!¡± Zeta firmly said. ¡°I thought I know you¡­ but if you give me the name of that group, I¡¯ll work with you once in the future,¡± Sylvia sighs as she puts her weapon on safe and watches Zeta stand up. ¡°I thought you''re siding with me¡­ But saving that junk and will cause your life? You¡¯re crazy, but that deal is not bad if you survive and I assume you don¡¯t want the money since you''re rich,¡± Zeta mockingly said. ¡°Just give me the name,¡± Sylvia demands with her moist eyes, wanting to read Zeta¡¯s thought or intention but she follows a code, a moral not to use it to her friends and family unless needed. ¡°It¡¯s the Hue Family,¡± Zeta answers and walks to her room, ¡°I suggest letting her go.¡± Sylvia takes her weaponry to rescue Yu no matter the cause and with her knowledge she learned from Zeta about computers and surveillance, she figures where the Hue family holding Yu at the moment and her next destination. Looking at the informations, she realized she can¡¯t infiltrate the ship on time but proceed hoping a miracle. Watching the ship take off without her makes her remember what she promised as she shouts with all her might, ¡°I¡¯M SORRY YU! Zee and I can¡¯t be on fun adventure¡­ With ha¡­ Yu.¡± A loud explosion and a sudden rush of air sweep throughout the mountain and when Sylvia looks at the ship, the propulsion and wings of the ship are on fire as it falls going for a crash-landing. She didn¡¯t know what happened, but she immediately bolted to where the spaceship will be crashing. Thick black smoke covers the sky, the acrid smells, the spaceship¡¯s debris everywhere and the realization that she¡¯ll never see Yu again while on her knee, but a ray of hope shines brightly in the tree close to the wreckage. Following the light, Sylvia saw Yu¡¯s childish hologram evolving to what we know now as information about all the capabilities she can perform. Yu¡¯s creator and father wanted her to gain her power or abilities slowly like a normal person experiencing life but also included emergency activation when her emotions reach a certain degree or if she¡¯s on danger. Sylvia ran to Yu¡¯s hologram to hug her as well as Yu, only to pass through each other and laugh together with puffy and teary eyes. End. The dream house; the space ship, Sylvia and the crew calls home; Zeta was part of that dream once¡ªto travel the unknown with the star as their guide, to have someone you can count on, a family through hardship and suffering; happiness and boresome. She could have it all as the sense of guilt and regret weigh her soul, that heavy feeling she¡¯s carrying as soon as she got a glimpse of the ship. ¡°Where¡¯s Yu?¡± Zeta asks out of the blue. ¡°She doesn¡¯t want to see or talk to you, but we need to fish the job so she¡¯ll help you,¡± Sylvia lets out. Yu: That is true. We going back to Europa and Visit ¡°J¡± or ¡°L¡± whoever that guy is. ¡°Wait, you know where the guy is?¡± Zeta asks Yu, wonders why Yu sounds angelic and mature and what happens to her cute and kid-like voice. Yu: Yup, GTFO means Get The Fuck Out and also means GT¡¯s Fashion Origins. I know it¡¯s a weird name, but I send a notice and received a reply. ¡°Look¡¯s like you guys don¡¯t need us. My brother K-13 and I will go and you guys have a good one. Okie Dokie?¡± Dokie lets out, waving his right hand effortlessly with a smile and a wink at the camera. ¡°Aimbot and I will concur worlds!¡± K-13 happily voices and walks with Dokie to hang out for a bit. ¡ãSee you later, love. Hope we finish this stuff and go hunting later¡ã ¡°See you two later,¡± Sylvia said and continues, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about the ¡°L¡± guy in the galley before we reach Europa.¡± ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± Zeta replies, as she looks around. In the bay, Dokie and K-13 talk about their experience and what they did to accomplish the mission. Dokie mentions they don¡¯t need to worry about them being in the system since Yu already taken care of it by removing their name in the registry and editing their video out from the prison and lunatic asylum system. ¡°She¡¯s just amazing¡­ Funny that, that the moment I hear her voice and saw her holographic body¡­ I knew that she¡¯s the one! For God''s sake, I¡¯m a machine and usually we learn ¡®Love¡¯ around 200 to 500 years old of age or something,¡± Dokie declares as he stands up. ¡°Ageless machine?¡± K-13 asks, blinking his eyes like a curious kid. ¡°I¡¯ll be honest, I don¡¯t know how old am I, but I know that I¡¯m still young,¡± Dokie answers. ¡°A Million year old Ancient!¡± K-13 assumes. ¡°Nah, that¡¯s too old. Maybe remove four zeros, young,¡± Dokie said as he plays a holographic recording. ¡°DEATH MATCH!¡± Dokie shouts, raising both of his hands. Dokie smiles, knowing K-13 won¡¯t judge him like others did after he showed his true strength; those lying smiles, mocking stares, the fear in their eyes, envious behavior; he remembers everything, and he only wishes to help and to be a great machine for people to speak his name, but against his own will and nature; he walks away, leaving him all alone in the endless journey of solitude and suffering; missing home, family, and friends. ¡°Yup, that¡¯s the guy,¡± Dokie points, ¡°He¡¯s a Fattass Knight- A race so noble and proud that they die for what they believe¡­ And that Fat Ass deserves to die! The disrespect! I can¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Demonic Pig¡¯s blood for bath soften my skin,¡± K-13 random said. ¡°Thanks¡­ No one will talk ill or disgrace my friend¡¯s honor without my permission!¡± Dokie declares. ¡°Aimbot! Aims the enemies! Killshot wonder!¡± K-13 stands and nod his head. ¡°Thanks¡­¡± Dokie replies and tags K-13. They started playing tag in the bay. Yu: ¡­ (She watches and listens to be amazed that she somehow understands K-13¡¯s words.) Sylvia, wearing a black dress with her white fur, compliments each other while Zeta stands proud with fitted black human suit like she¡¯s on a date with Sylvia catching people''s attention wherever they go. G&T Fashion Origin is known to move around the Milky Way Galaxy, a place where men or women across the galaxy pour their love and time to stay or look beautiful and perfect. A prestigious place like this one requires power, influence and connection, but with Yu¡¯s ability, it only took her a minute to sign Sylvia and Zeta that usually takes an entire year to be seen by an artist. ¡°Fashion is life,¡± Zeta reading the company¡¯s slogan, ¡°We pick our way of life and they pick theirs¡­ Understandable.¡± ¡°That is true,¡± Sylvia leads the way and a stylist immediately assists them on what are they looking for. Alitodile- A reptilian race with a slander, flexible body like they don¡¯t have bones, and or muscular covered with single or colorful scales from head to toe. What¡¯s unique about the stylist (We calling her ¡°Jem¡±) is that her scales are transparent and considered to be ugly, but G&T Fashion Origin adopted her when she¡¯s about to die from starvation. She doesn¡¯t remember her savior¡¯s face, but she¡¯ll do her best to return the favor. Whole body looking white and pale, but when the scales catch light, color flashes like fire; her beauty, every inch and corner of her whole being, is like a living gem. ¡°Good day! It¡¯s rare to see a Tabi from the corner of the Milky Way Galaxy and Gray alone without her fellow Grays,¡± Jem greets the two with her tail wagging from excitement, ¡±What brings two unique and beautiful being here?¡± ¡°We made an appointment with the CEO or the owner of this place,¡± Sylvia answers and comments, ¡°You¡¯re very educated.¡± ¡°Thank you! And I apologize, ma¡¯am, but that¡¯s impossible. No one has seen the owner or the person running this place since the day it was built,¡± Jem answers, bowing her head. ¡°After all the requirements? Some bullshit!¡± Zeta let out and thought, ¡ãYou might look beautiful. But in reality is that everything about you is fake¡ã ¡°Excuse me,¡± a random human said, ¡°Boss is expecting you people.¡± Jem looks at the exotic and beautiful human (We calling her ¡°Sara¡±), wearing a white bikini complementing her Sahara sand color like skin, assuming the owner saved this girl¡¯s life like hers, ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave the uncut gems to you.¡± The building itself is genius to have a dry and wet area, and by just looking up, you¡¯ll see Waqualas with long silk like clothing flowing water and with their movement like time slows down and feels like every time they wave their hand, move their body or tilting of their heads give meanings or story like a true artist they are. Stylist professionals with their model design to create the next big thing, but as easy as it looks, other companies with talented employees would be on the same stage doing their best. ¡°This place is very nice,¡± Sylvia lets out. ¡°It is,¡± Sara replies and continues, ¡°My family started it. Our race might be endangered, but we¡¯ll always find a way.¡± ¡°Welcome¡­ You people,¡± a depressed sounding human male lets out, coming from the room ahead. ¡°Uncle, here¡¯s your guest,¡± Sara bows her head and leave. ¡°Are you ¡®J¡¯ or ¡®L¡¯ or something?¡± Sylvia asks. ¡°More like a ¡®Loser,¡¯ ¡®Jerk¡¯ or a pathetic piece of a human¡­¡± The loser declares as he opens the mini fridge and grabs a double choco-chocolate chip ice cream, ¡°Even a fly has a purpose like, like food for spiders.¡± ¡°What the fuck?¡± Zeta angrily asks and crossed her arms. ¡°You guys trying to hire me, but it just happened that I¡¯m at my lowest¡­ But hey, I can still do it!¡± The loser declares and opens a bag of chips. ¡°So¡­ What happened?¡± Sylvia asks while Yu watches through the camera in Sylvia¡¯s gemstone bindi. Yu to Sylvia: Why ask questions? Just leave¡­ ¡°You see¡­ I was the greatest until my love breaks up with me,¡± the loser answers as he eats more ice cream and morphs into a girl slightly looking like Yu. Yu to Sylvia: Shit! It¡¯s the security guard! Long story and I don¡¯t want to talk about it. ¡°Oh my! Well, better leave now and you two can talk about whatever!¡± Sylvia said. ¡°Wait! Your like my favorite for all the tasks given! I guess Zeta hired you to hire me,¡± the loser assumes. ¡°That¡¯s right and my job here is done,¡± Sylvia bows her head and walks away, ¡°Just a note, your lady probably saw you looking at Zeta and me attentively and received her wrath.¡± Yu: ¡­ ¡°¡­¡± The loser and Zeta look at her as she leave the room. In the coffee shop in the middle section of the dome city, Sylvia drinks a cup of hot milk and reads a pocketbook about how humans worship cats in the past while she waits for K-13. The underwater stars twinkle and brighten the never ending darkness of the dome¡ªhope in the abyss, the fear of the unknown and utopia for lovers where souls intertwined in a mysterious way. ¡°Angel statue cries blood!¡± K-13 shouts as soon as he saw Sylvia and calling people¡¯s attention. ¡ãSorry I¡¯m late!¡ã ¡°Oh, it¡¯s all good! This place is nice and quiet,¡± Sylvia smiles. ¡°People will welcome us,¡± K-13 seriously said. ¡ãWhat¡¯s the plan?¡ã ¡°We can walk, swim around and get some dinner?¡± Sylvia suggests and asks, ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°You dealing with the devil,¡± K-13 answers. ¡ãSounds good to me!¡ã The combined beauty of the city¡ªthe never ending night, underwater stars; the white, purple and dark red flowers in the streets (Dry side) and the glowing sky blue, white and orange corals (Wet side) takes people¡¯s breath away and naturally develops a romantic atmosphere. Sylvia and K-13 walks on the street while children run playing tag and musicians play their instruments¡ªa relaxing day before and after missions. Dokie, with a camera attach to his forehead, slowly follows Sylvia and K-13. To stalk a friend during a date is more fun than hacking the city¡¯s cameras to watch them enjoy the day¡ªit¡¯s the only way for Yu and Dokie to feel thrilled and alive. Yu to Dokie: Shit! Hide your big ass head! ¡°Okie dokie! But my big ass head? What do you mean?¡± Dokie protests. Yu to Dokie: You know what I¡¯m talking about and better start moving. They¡¯re leaving the store. In the restaurant, Dokie, with mustache and menu on his hands, to cover his face, ¡°I should order a high-quality oil.¡± Yu to Dokie: Dude! We don¡¯t have time for that and. What the Fuck with that mustache? ¡°You mean the Imperial? I feel pretty with my mustache! They won¡¯t recognize me,¡± Dokie said in his defence. Yu to Dokie: Are you stupid? You¡¯re wearing the same Hawaiian shorts and shirt. The waiter immediately serves Dokie¡¯s order while Sylvia and K-13 for an extra minute and go straight to walking after they ate. Good thing about the restaurants, the customers can activate an invisible force for privacy. ¡°What do you think are they talking about?¡± Dokie asks while he sees, swirl, sniffs, sips, and savors the oil. "Yu to Dokie: They activated the privacy force like those couples in the corner fighting but can¡¯t hear them. ¡°I know! I¡¯m like, watching them and then Vi and thirteen. Oh, shit! The lady has a gun! Shit! The dude is dead,¡± Dokie said and noticed the two leaving before the authorities arrive for questioning. Yu to Dokie: Smart. Better leave and follow the two. ¡°Aye aye, Captain!¡± Dokie finished his drink and electronically paid before leaving. While Sylvia and K-13 walks the quiet street, Yu and Dokie follow them comically. ¡°Ma! A machine is hiding behind the flower pots!¡± The kid shouts. Yu to Dokie: I told you! You look stupid with plants in your head. ¡°Now, now, kid. I¡¯m just passing by,¡± Dokie stands up and starts running. In the vestibule compartment separating the dry and wet side of the city, Sylvia pays for two underwater suits and joins the crowd. Underwater noise is unavoidable, but the rental suit can muffle any or specific sounds and frequency. The underwater stars shine brighter than normal and the people playing musical instruments in the oversize coral like a floating island setting a romantic atmosphere. Sylvia grabs K-13¡¯s hands and swims closer to the coral and dance with the crowd. With Sylvia¡¯s slender body and K-13¡¯s control like he¡¯s leading the dance, everyone moves away for the two to have their moments. Sylvia¡¯s dark and bright eyes and bewitching smile, K-13 can¡¯t take his eyes off her while they dance and flow like water around the coral as the stars themself glow with them like the God of the Sea and water smiles upon the two. It was Yu. Back in the dry area, Dokie can¡¯t pass through the crowd chasing a man in his underwear, disturbing the peace and quiet that the city is known for and when Dokie asks what¡¯s happening, ¡°You should have left a little early since we¡¯re doing the Pandemonium Event or festival. We actually started like one or three weeks ago,¡± the man says and continues, ¡°I don¡¯t know that human, but this romantic stuff is overrated and he broke the cycle! He created something beautiful than ¡®Love Utopian.¡¯ His a hero!¡± Yu to Dokie: Wait¡­ Did 13 started this shit? -=- The Past -=- Sylvia bought a two wheels, self-balancing scooter for Yu to use to ¡°walk¡± around the house and somehow help with her best. ¡°Lets start preparing for the mission,¡± Zeta lets out and continues, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about Sylvia. We can do the mission without her, and it¡¯s a surprise.¡± Yu: A surprise for Vi? Hell yea! I¡¯m in! ¡°We need to travel for a bit and do the mission and back. Before you know it, we¡¯ll complete the mission before Vi gets back,¡± Zeta answers. Yu": I see. Okay! In the middle of nowhere, after traveling for an hour and hiking a mountain, Yu notices that there¡¯s no why to contact anyone or device to connect to except for the two radios that Zeta brought. While setting up the camp, Zeta didn¡¯t say a word and finished putting the force field online. ¡°Alright. So the plan is to use this radio to report anything unusual,¡± Zeta said, and Yu¡¯s hologram materialized. Yu: Sounds good to me, Zee. ¡°Good. I¡¯ll be going now. Don¡¯t worry about me, got it?¡± Zeta declares. Yu: Okay... I¡¯ll wait here. Let¡¯s complete this mission! Stay safe! ¡°Yup yup,¡± Zeta smiles as she hikes down the mountain. Yu: It¡¯s nice that Zee place this barrier for me. Staring at the planet and stars above, Yu wonders their next adventure and what type of space ship they¡¯re going to buy in the future. Questions filled Yu¡¯s processors and can¡¯t help feeling something wrong, but the barrier keeps her mind at ease. Half an hour without Zeta¡¯s status update makes Yu worry until she started to pick up someone on her radar and worry about her safety. Yu to Zeta using the radio: Someone¡¯s here¡­ The person doesn¡¯t know yet, but it looks like he¡¯s heading my way. Zeta to Yu: Don¡¯t worry, I know the guy. Yu to Zeta: That¡¯s good¡­ ¡°Yup, it¡¯s here,¡± the mercenary with thin metal plated armor lets out. Yu: What do you mean by ¡°It¡¯s here¡±? ¡°So you guys believe me now?¡± Zeta said from the radio. Yu: Hey, can you fill me up? Wait¡­ you muted me¡­ ¡°I¡¯m still waiting for the money,¡± Zeta said from the radio. Yu: Money? You finished the job? ¡°Well, nice making business with you guys,¡± Zeta said from the radio. Yu: Zee¡­ You didn¡¯t mute yourself¡­ You stupid lady¡­ The mercenary smiles after receiving the barrier¡¯s password, and disables the power. Yu tries her best to blocks the mercenary with her holographic body while the mercenary laugh until he coughs from Yu¡¯s silly efforts. ¡°How stupid are you? Ha, an AI?¡± the mercenary comments. Yu: ¡­ No matter how much effort Yu tries to connect to the radio or looks for a way to ask for help, she is left with a radio with only the annoying static sound as the man takes her body, the cube away like the man touched her naked and violated. Back in the house, Sylvia looks around and ask Zee, ¡°Have you seen Yu?¡± ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t need to worry about her,¡± Zee answers. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Sylvia¡¯s eyes narrowed, staring Zeta down. ¡°Remember when and why we stole the ¡®Ultimate AI,¡¯ cause I found a buyer and sold her!¡± Zeta happily answers without reading the room and continues, ¡±We can buy a spaceship and travel.¡± ¡°We can achieve our dreams,¡± both let out at the same time. Zeta smiles from ear to ear only to find herself on the ground with a gun pointed at her head, "What the FUCK¡¯s wrong with you!?¡± ¡°The fuck! I was thinking about us! When I sold that useless AI!¡± Zeta angrily answers. ¡°Where is she!?¡± Sylvia angrily asks. ¡°It¡¯s too late! That group is too powerful for us and I will not rescue that useless piece of junk!¡± Zeta firmly said. ¡°I thought I know you¡­ but if you give me the name of that group, I¡¯ll work with you once in the future,¡± Sylvia sighs as she puts her weapon on safe and watches Zeta stand up. ¡°I thought you''re siding with me¡­ But saving that junk and will cause your life? You¡¯re crazy, but that deal is not bad if you survive and I assume you don¡¯t want the money since you''re rich,¡± Zeta mockingly said. ¡°Just give me the name,¡± Sylvia demands with her moist eyes, wanting to read Zeta¡¯s thought or intention but she follows a code, a moral not to use it to her friends and family unless needed. ¡°It¡¯s the Hue Family,¡± Zeta answers and walks to her room, ¡°I suggest letting her go.¡± Sylvia takes her weaponry to rescue Yu no matter the cause and with her knowledge she learned from Zeta about computers and surveillance, she figures where the Hue family holding Yu at the moment and her next destination. Looking at the informations, she realized she can¡¯t infiltrate the ship on time but proceed hoping a miracle. Watching the ship take off without her makes her remember what she promised as she shouts with all her might, ¡°I¡¯M SORRY YU! Zee and I can¡¯t be on fun adventure¡­ With ha¡­ Yu.¡± A loud explosion and a sudden rush of air sweep throughout the mountain and when Sylvia looks at the ship, the propulsion and wings of the ship are on fire as it falls going for a crash-landing. She didn¡¯t know what happened, but she immediately bolted to where the spaceship will be crashing. Thick black smoke covers the sky, the acrid smells, the spaceship¡¯s debris everywhere and the realization that she¡¯ll never see Yu again while on her knee, but a ray of hope shines brightly in the tree close to the wreckage. Following the light, Sylvia saw Yu¡¯s childish hologram evolving to what we know now as information about all the capabilities she can perform. Yu¡¯s creator and father wanted her to gain her power or abilities slowly like a normal person experiencing life but also included emergency activation when her emotions reach a certain degree or if she¡¯s on danger. Sylvia ran to Yu¡¯s hologram to hug her as well as Yu, only to pass through each other and laugh together with puffy and teary eyes. End. (14) Shark Bait In the spaceship, the crew gathers in the mess hall for a new exciting and profitable hunt in the moon before heading somewhere else in the future. Yu: 13, you know you made history here, right? The chaos you created is like a holiday now! ¡°That¡¯s my brother! A man of culture!¡± Dokie announces, with toy guns shooting confetti. Yu: Vi! Permission to turn THIS MACHINE into a vacuum cleaner! ¡°Nope,¡± Sylvia chuckles. Yu: ¡­ ¡°They worship me through chaos and ordeal!¡± K-13 loudly declares as he hits his chest like a gorilla and looks at the window. ¡ãThat¡¯s good to know!¡ã ¡°It¡¯s a beautiful place, but this ¡®lovey-dovey¡¯, every day? No, thank you,¡± Sylvia lets out and continues, ¡°Kay is a blessing to the locals!¡± ¡°CURSES!¡± K-13 shouts. ¡ãThank you, you¡¯ll blessing to me¡ã The lights dim in the room, and the holographic faces in the center shuffle with their bounty fixed above their head like shopping online. Dying from boredom, the crew decide to pick their favorite to show and tell to the group since there¡¯s nothing better they can do at the moment. With the money they can earn from bounty hunting alone, it¡¯s enough for them to retire on a planet of their choosing and if they run into problems, Yu can hack to almost anything and enjoy the infinite money glitch. Yu: I¡¯ll go first, missing tech, but multiple hunters are currently looking for the thief. ¡°This one sounds fun, missing octopus pet,¡± Dokie suggests while checking on the octopus¡¯s hologram. Yu: You know how hard to look for pets? An octopus who can camouflage? Like, and the last known location is in the market. You know the tracker is destroyed, and you also know that the octopus did it. Dokie looks at Yu and explains, ¡°You see, octopi are smart and cute and we can see a lot of them if we take this job!¡± ¡°You just want to play with octopi, don¡¯t you?¡± Sylvia smiles and scrolls, looking for a perfect prey, ¡°Oh, who did you pick, Kay?¡± ¡°Monkey,¡± K-13 answers for the first time with deep and dignified voice. ¡ãDead or alive: The gluttonous man-eating monkey¡ã ¡°Monke,¡± Dokie lets out with a serious face, trying not to laugh. ¡°Monkey?¡± Sylvia laughs. Yu: ¡­ ¡°Oh, what about hunting ¡®Slark?¡¯ Lowest level of the city. The rewards will last us for a year,¡± Sylvia suggests, reading at the description, ¡°And newly posted. By ahh¡­ A rich, entitled kid.¡± ¡°Vi, you can¡¯t assume people on the web like that,¡± Dokie sounds his opinion. ¡°Listen. The description shows how this little fucker is a piece of shit. He said, ¡®I was playing my AR games and ruined my chicken dinner. I don¡¯t like his kind.¡¯ That¡¯s the first sentence, but the reward money is 50,000 Units.¡± ¡°Offering for the God of Blood!¡± K-13 loudly declares. ¡ãThat¡¯s not bad¡ã Yu: Not bad, plus a few bounties related to Slark, adding up to 150,000 Units. ¡°Oh mama! That¡¯s fucking amazing! But you guys not telling us about that ¡®Slark guy,¡± Dokie lets out his concern. Yu: He¡¯s a Waquala who breeds many types of sharks. The sharks are very obedient to Slark, and they can identify him from the pheromones he releases. Be advice that the sharks can equip weaponry or device that can make our lives difficult. ¡°Slave master!¡± K-13 shouts. ¡ãI wanna pet them!¡ã Yu: Yup, he basically leading an army of deadly sea dogs! ¡°Frenzy!¡± K-13 cries. ¡ãSea dogs?¡ã ¡°A lot of planning needed to take this guy out,¡± Dokie let out and read, ¡°Doesn¡¯t like the Government, extortion, killed an official, possible trafficking, terrorism, etc.¡± ¡°A very dangerous person,¡± Sylvia comments. ¡°A perfect fucking knight!¡± K-13 declares. ¡ãBetter find a fast way to take the guy out!¡ã Yu: No, 13. A real scum. While Yu investigates Slark¡¯s whereabouts and looks for information that could help them capture him, the rest formulates a plan to capture their him, perhaps a trap he¡¯ll never see coming or a direct confrontation with his pet sharks? A painless assassination or a long hunting game where they tire and make him surrender? A quick dynamite fishing or a relaxing therapeutic shock with a deadly kick? What it takes to hunt a ¡°Sea Master¡± in his own territory? The lower level they visit, the darker it gets, with fewer dry sides, like they¡¯re traveling to the abyss where there¡¯s no escape. Even with the feeling of the impending death, there¡¯s beauty from the distant building with small lights like staring at the midnight stars¡ªa familiar feeling of the vacuum of space. Coming from all directions, everyone gathers in the center like a river of Waqualas to shop for daily necessity and uses sign language to communicate while noises came from the marine life and shop advertising their products echoes the 7th level like music unique to the to the surface dwellers. The ancestors made sure the future generation stay true to their whole being by promoting less light and technology but promotes free higher education and mandatory history class to learn from the past and not repeat it. With the power of AI, unnecessary noise gets canceled, temperature and pressure are maintained¡ªa paradise to all aquatic life. Slark with grocery on both hands, swimming back home to feed his pet sharks. With no one around, the crew slowly approach him with weaponry that shoots nets to capture him alive. Little thing did they know, two great white sharks are a swim not far away to protect their master with body attachments for offence and defence. Yu: Oh shit! Two sharks coming your way! ¡°Okie dokie! Thanks Love,¡± Dokie responded. ¡°BAAABYYYY! SHARK DOO, DOO, DOO!¡± K-13 loudly starts singing. ¡ãWhat the fuck! I¡¯m done with that song! Why body!? Why!¡ã ¡°Ha, ha, ha, ha. Who showed that video to Kay?¡± Sylvia asks the crew. Yu: I blame the internet! ¡°I could have taken you three down the moment I noticed you guys¡¯ annoying presence!¡± Slark announces as he pulls two daggers out and lets out, ¡°This place¡¯s empty¡­ No one¡¯s around to bother us!¡± ¡°A MAN OF CULTURE!¡± K-13 shouts, charging with a dagger and net capsules around his waist. ¡ãThis is great! No one to worry like that market full of people!¡ã When Sylvia and Dokie try to help K-13, the sharks charge with their mouth open, ready to devour their prey whole. Sylvia evades the first shark through instinct while Dokie grabs the second shark but is propelled by the shark shield generator. Yu: I hate that there¡¯s only a few electronics I can connect in the area and not know about the sharks protecting our target. I couldn¡¯t help more than this¡­ ¡°I knew you¡¯ll be worried as soon as I got hit!¡± Dokie happily declares. Yu: Shut up! Promise that you¡¯re not a dead weight. Sylvia throws a capsule and immediately releases a net to capture the shark but blades come out of the attachments, destroying the net that¡¯s supposed to catch it. K-13 looks at Slark swimming around him like an Apex predator while humming like he already knows the outcome, like the previous bounty hunter¡¯s fate after they took the job to take him out. With an arm crossed stance while charging K-13, Slark can easily land a fatal attack with his speed, but K-13 parried his attack and punch his stomach. ¡°SEA KING! I am Poison! Your End!¡± K-13 declares, using sign language and activating the capsule to completely capture Slark and finish the job. ¡ãEasy!¡ã With Slark¡¯s conditions, the two great white sharks realized their situation and immediately escape. The first shark grabs their master, Slark, while the second shark grabs the grocery. Stolen story; please report. ¡°WHY DON¡¯T YOU HIT ME IN THE FACE ONE! ONE! MORE! TIME! PAPA SHARK! I¡¯LL FIND YOU!¡± K-13 angrily shouts as soon as he gets back on his feet after the first and second sharks bodied him left and right to rescue their master. (Only the crew can hear him) ¡ãWhat the fuck! They¡¯re smart¡ã ¡°You guys saw the second shark? It¡¯s so cute grabbing the grocery,¡± Dokie lets out. Yu: What¡¯s wrong with you? It¡¯s the enemy! ¡°Calm down now. Dokie is Dokie and the enemy will be harder to catch after this!¡± Sylvia announces with a faint smile, like she¡¯s enjoying their situation. ¡°I! AM! VENGENCE!¡± K-13 shouts as he swims next to Sylvia and Dokie. ¡ãShe¡¯s not wrong¡­ Slark will be prepared!¡ã ¡°I would assume that we¡¯ll be dealing with more sharks,¡± Sylvia lets out. ¡°Don¡¯t worry guys, I once called by my friends the ¡®Sea Princess.¡¯ Imagine swimming with many types of fishes, and feeding them shrimp meat! They¡¯ll swim around you like you¡¯re a princess! I feel one like that one movie!¡± Dokie declares. Yu: ¡­ Back in the ship, the crew stay in their quarters to rest or relax before they go back underwater to hunt Slark and survive a frenzy. Thanks to Slark¡¯s dedication and hard work, the sharks develop a sense of kinship and made him a part of the school¡ªtheir family. Yu: Playing ¡°Lofi.¡± ¡°Relaxing, not bad. Reminds me of home,¡± Sylvia lets out as she sharpens her spear. Yu: What do you think about this hunt? ¡°Well, this time¡­ It¡¯s different,¡± Sylvia stops sharpening her spear and looks at Yu, ¡°We have someone we can trust!¡± Yu: It feels¡­ Different and weird, in a good way! ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Sylvia smiles and closes her eyes. When everyone clears their head and is ready to get back hunting after the quick break, they gather in the galley to find a way to capture Slark alive to receive the maximum rewards. The only thing that made this job difficult is the sharks that, in this era, developed to be smarter and stronger compare to their ancestors on planet Earth. ¡°Sleep, it sounds peaceful,¡± Dokie lets out and continues, ¡°We just replay good memories.¡± ¡°Eternal Torture!¡± K-13 shouts. ¡ãI just meditate. I know it¡¯s crazy knowing me!¡ã ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Sylvia smiles, ¡°Slark should know that we¡¯re coming or at least prepared to face us.¡± Yu: I know you want a good hunt! Should be fine as long as you guys play it safe. ¡°You guys actually doing bounty hunting for fun, huh?¡± Dokie spoke up what¡¯s in his mind. ¡°APEX! WE¡¯RE APEX!¡± K-13 shouts on top of his lungs while hitting his chest with his fists. ¡ãAdventure!¡ã Yu: Yup! To prove that we¡¯re at the top, top! ¡°My lovely Goddess of all Machines! Let me worship Yu!¡± Dokie answers and voice, ¡°Yu don¡¯t need to prove yourself. Deep inside, my cold metallic body knows that by heart!¡± Yu: Vi! We need to junk this broken ass machine! Or call a mechanic! ¡°You have a sharp tongue! I like it!¡± Sylvia replies and smiles, ¡°You two are perfect!¡± ¡°FORCEFUL!¡± K-13 jumps to celebrate. ¡ãAgreed!¡ã Yu: You two stop need with this nonsense! Yu¡¯s holographic body shows changes like blushing and murderous aura, like effect showing her emotion visually and riling K-13 up to dance like a tribal person and raising his spear parallel to the deck. Defeated and humiliated by her friend Sylvia along with K-13, Yu give a deep sigh and smile as she projected all the information she gathered about Slark. Yu: You guys done? Anyway, this is the real time 3d mapping of the lowest level of the city. ¡°Baby sharks! Mommy Shark! Daddy Sharks! SHARKS! SEA DOGGO!¡± K-13 loudly sings and starts pointing at the smallest to the largest sharks. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of them!¡± Dokie said with a surprised tone. ¡°Can we electrocute them?¡± Sylvia asks. ¡°ZUES!¡± K-13 shouts. ¡ãIs it legal?¡ã Yu: Too much work and expensive; illegal, someone tried it before and failed. I also noticed that they¡¯re equipped with a device that absorbs energy or electricity. The crew chat for an hour, planning and coming out of new and creative ideas to capture Slark. They don¡¯t stress it so much that they joke in between; K-13 utters complete nonsense, Dokie announcing his love to Yu and Sylvia enjoys the moment while Yu tries her best to keep everything in order. Prepared and ready to go; Sylvia, Dokie and K-13 heads to the lowest level of the city for round two. The light rarely reached the lowest level, making it a dark and bluish while the silhouette of the sharks swimming around the only building in the area creates a sense of beauty while feeling haunted. With two noticeable whale sharks with four flood lights like limbs that make them look like they¡¯re walking underwater, searching for intruders makes anyone cower in fear. This might be a place of horror for most, but a home for Slark. ¡°BABY SHARK! FACE ME, YOU COWARD!¡± K-13 shouts even though it¡¯s only the crew that can hear him. ¡ãBetter to show ourselves and take them out as planned¡ã ¡°I guess we can¡¯t make this mission easy?¡± Dokie sounds, holding two batons with needles that administer power anesthetic agent to the sharks, ¡°I mean, there¡¯s nothing we can do about and the sharks will eventually notice us.¡± ¡°Here they come!¡± Sylvia announces as soon as the sharks charge towards them. With sharks coming from all directions, they put them to sleep one by one while K-13 punches their nose and redirecting or disabling them. Slark gets out of the building and starts using sign language after getting close enough to converse with the crew, asking why they¡¯re hunting him, but Sylvia only replies with ¡°Bounty Hunters.¡± Slark watches the three struggles and notices K-13 starts charging after they meet eyes even though there¡¯s more shark protecting and swimming around him. What perplexes Slark is that the previous bounty hunters killed a few of his sharks while this group actively incapacitates them. Learning from previous experience, his only mistake that could have caused his head is getting too close to the enemies, prompting him to send more sharks and keeping his distance. Like the unstoppable force of nature, K-13 learns how to disable the shark by lightly touching the snout and guiding them into a tonic immobility as he sign language ¡°FIGHT ME! COWARD! SENDING DOGS, WILL NOT STOP ME!¡± Thanks to Sylvia and Dokie¡¯s efforts to limit the sharks protecting Slark, K-13 can quickly finish the job but when he¡¯s arm reach and can finally fight one on one, a whale sharks comes out of nowhere sending him back to the two. Yu to the crew: I¡¯m not risking you guys! ¡°I knew you care and love me!¡± Dokie announces as he continues to put any shark that comes to sleep. ¡°Well, we tried. We didn¡¯t want this to happen in the first place,¡± Sylvia let out and looks at Slark. Slark smiles thinking he won and making the three an example will keep bounty hunters away but notices Sylvia sign language ¡°You ask for this.¡± He looks around and notices small drones attached to the sharks¡¯ dorsal fin as the drones releases something strong that mimics the smell of fish blood and chemicals, reactivating the sharks¡¯ primal instincts he never thought possible after the sharks evolved to their liking and domesticated by Waquala. ¡°My kingdom comes! You are done!¡± K-13 shouts and sign language for Slark to see and understand. ¡ãI¡¯m sorry¡­¡ã Slark did not understand what K-13 is saying and never will. In the dark, where the only thing you¡¯ll notice are the sharks¡¯ disappearing figure and reappearing to eat another shark with red glowing eyes, not knowing what¡¯s going to happen to them. Slark tries his best to command them, only to put them into confusion and into an uncontrollable frenzy where they try to eat each other even more aggressively. Slark quickly swims to the closest shark, grabbing its tail while the shark tries its best to take a bite of the whale shark. Without him knowing, a great white shark launched itself to take a champ, but a tiger shark bit on the shark he¡¯s holding and get thrown to the side and watch the carnage right in front of him¡ªA family to a mindless beast eating each other. A nightmare he wants to wake up from. ¡°PURGE!¡± K-13 swims happily while redirecting the sharks away from them. ¡ãWe need to find the right moment to take Slark away!¡ã Slark looks at Sylvia with bared teeth and narrowed eyes, blaming her for the chaos that Yu caused while angrily opening and closing he¡¯s mouth like he¡¯s shouting all the profanities in the galaxy and launching himself to take revenge on the increasingly sharks deaths. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to make your family this way...¡± Sylvia lets out in sign language. Like taking candy from a baby, K-13 appears next to Slark and hit him on the side while Dokie their bounty by putting the shark to sleep before reaching the Slark. Sylvia tries to kick Slark but her speed is reduced and didn¡¯t hurt him that much and caught her leg. With rage that cannot be compared fuels his every move, Slark can hold himself fighting with Sylvia and K-13 simultaneously but luck is not on his side and fist size ball drones attached themselves to his body, slowing him down while receiving constant strikes from the two. ¡°Please stop! I¡¯ll go with you BOUNTY HUNTERS! Please stop this madness... My family... I want. Wish them to survive this insanity,¡± Slark sign language, begging until a controlled current run through his body coming from the drones Yu controls. Yu: We don¡¯t have time to listen to his back story! Looks like he¡¯s about to share his story. Yu releases a frequency to let all sharks to swim away and stop the senseless frenzy. ¡°Bye bye, good boys and girls... Terrible day to drown,¡± K-13 calmly lets out. ¡ãTo consider them his family...¡ã ¡°I feel you, brother,¡± Dokie replies, ¡°Not an Okie Dokie.¡± ¡°Better leave this place before the sharks get back!¡± Sylvia suggests. ¡°Right,¡± Dokie answers while K-13 nods. Yu: Could have done this job way faster. ¡°Agreed, but where¡¯s the fun on that?¡± Sylvia lets out and leads the way. -=- Slark¡¯s past -=- The lower level is like any other level, with lights to illuminate the citizens¡¯ way, buildings and houses everywhere, Waquala and marine life living in harmony. Clark is just a little boy playing hide and seek with his friends, but the Mayor of the lower levels and friends are visiting the ¡°Life Support Building¡±. Life Support Building- Structures in between level that control the pressure, temperature, oxygen and any parameters to keep everyone alive within the city walls. ¡°Good day Mr. Mayor, Visitors,¡± the engineer on watch greets everyone and continues, ¡°Pleassse. Don¡¯t touch anything. Please.¡± Little did that the engineer on watch knows is that the Mayor and his friends are actively taking drugs during the tour in a form of a childish game of dare. Everything is going well until the engineer needs to go use the restroom, leaving everyone unsupervised. They start fighting after a few minutes over nothing and accidentally destroyed a console and a server, overloading the system and shutting down the entire building and its purpose. ¡°Clark, why are you so good at playing hide and seek?¡± His friend asks while the rest looks at him. ¡°My parents taught me, of course!¡± Clark happily answers. ¡°We¡¯ll find you eventually!¡± His friends declare. ¡°Right!¡± Clark said with a bright smile, ¡°Better start counting so we can hide!¡± Clark wants his friend to find him since they never found him and decided to hide in his father¡¯s heavy duty explosive transport case. A commonplace that children used to hide, and he wants to surprise his friend whenever he opens the case. With the tapping sound getting closer, Clark knows his friend is closing in and can¡¯t hold his excitement and when his friend¡¯s about to open the case, the whole level¡¯s pressure suddenly increases to where the heavy duty case where Clark is hiding slowly getting crushed by the immense force and eventually stops where he cannot move or breathe properly. Not knowing what happened outside, Clark tries his best to get out of the case but when he did, blood, entrails and organs of the dead welcomes him; collapsed buildings and broken houses look like in a war-torn country from Tv and the remaining lights turning off while shadows swiftly appear from every direction. Clark didn¡¯t know what to do or think as he froze in place looking up while the sharks eats what remains. During this time, he releases something from his body that keeps him alive and when the sharks finally finish eating all the remains; they swim around him and witness the birth of Slark. -=- Present-=- Yu: I have information about the latest AI body in the famous AI world! ¡°The place we tried to avoid?¡± Sylvia lets out. Yu: Yup. ¡°I want to visit that place! My fellow Machine recommended it!¡± Dokie cheerfully announces. ¡°MIND FUCK!¡± K-13 shouts. ¡ãDon¡¯t mind it! I heard everyone can go visit the visual world!¡ã ¡°Looks like we know where we¡¯re going next!¡± Sylvia declares with a smile. No one knows Slark¡¯s history nor the lowest level¡¯s tragedy, but Yu after she investigated everything. She found a clip of the previous mayor blaming the engineer after the accident, stating that the engineer had enough with everyone and killed everyone in the lowest level, then killed himself. One of the Mayor¡¯s friends had a recording of the event just in case, but no one can escape Yu¡¯s grasp. Knowing what happened, Yu made sure the proper authorities were notified and used her ability to lessen Slark¡¯s sentence and made sure someone¡¯s feeding his family. Fin. Extra Dec2024 Before the ship can use the Hyperdrive, it needs to be at a certain speed, unlike the spaceship used by the Royals, the rich, and the Government for war or any speed-requiring purpose, which can release energy quickly to activate their Hyperdrive instantly¡ªClearly someone with power and wealth. Owning a spaceship in this era is easy as buying a car in the 22th century, but the energy orb needed for Pulse and hyper mode space travel can be costly, leaving small groups or companies to get stuck in one place before they can move to different locations. Yu: This should be fun. 13, this should be your first deep space travel. ¡°DEATH STAR! BLACK HOLE SUCKING THIS NUTS!¡± K-13 replies. ¡ãThat is true. Any side effects?¡ã ¡°You should be fine, Kay,¡± Sylvia lets out. ¡°Funny. I don¡¯t understand you, 13. But, it¡¯s all good and I feel I understand you. Me, a machine, feeling something? Last I travelled, I forgot to disable my sensors and short circuits!¡± Dokie announces and smiles. ¡°Okie dokie?¡± Sylvia asks. ¡°Haaaa, you said it again! Okie dokie! I upgraded them,¡± Dokie smiles. Yu: It should take us a week to nine days to reach the edge of Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy. ¡°Nine? That¡¯s not bad. We do need to go train,¡± Sylvia lets out. ¡°Train?¡± Dokie asks. Yu: Yup! After a mission, Vi usually trains based on her shortcomings on the previous mission.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°YES! HA Ha HA!¡± K-13 suddenly laughs and continues, ¡°Talk to the guns!¡± ¡ãI better train! Talking¡ã Yu and Dokie confusingly look at K-13 while Sylvia smiles, cherishing the moment. Yu: Anyway. Vi needs to train how to command. Dokie needs to learn how to do an effective hand-to-hand combat. And 13¡­ K-13 immediately runs away, making Yu think how disrespectful he is until he gets back with three 3D printed dinosaurs toys and starts playing with them while roaring and staring at the group. ¡°Ooo! He¡¯s telling us that I need to be more like a beast fighting. A savage!¡± Dokie enthusiastically assumes. Yu: He¡¯s not telling you that! He¡¯s telling us... I don¡¯t understand... Never mind. ¡°It looks like three dinosaurs¡¯ friends talking!¡± Sylvia hints. ¡°KILL!¡± K-13 cheers. ¡ãYes!¡ã Yu: Oh! You might be right! ¡°He he he,¡± Sylvia laughs. ¡°What about the dinosaurs? What does it mean? Wait... They¡¯re cool!¡± Dokie speaks his mind out. ¡°KILLLL!¡± K-13 cheers again, dancing and jumping like a little kid. ¡ãYes! They understand!¡ã Yu: Oh my God... This makes me feel happy... ¡°I told you! It will be fun,¡± Sylvia lets out and looks at Yu, smiling while Dokie and K-13 started playing with the dinosaurs. Yu: Fine, you¡¯re right. The course is ready for training, so be ready! ¡°Sounds good to me!¡± Sylvia smiles and checks Yu¡¯s proposed training course. Yu: Before the exercise, I prepared a small snack and we can talk about the AI world and what to prepare. And how to prepare us? ¡°Let the universe know your beauty!¡± Dokie rejoice and continues, ¡°A machine friend of mine mention that entering the world feels like you''re walking naked!¡± Yu: I heard... Well, I searched it. I learned that the feeling is like walking in the world with just codes... Our soul or something. ¡°We¡¯ll see,¡± Sylvia lets out and complements Yu¡¯s cooking. ¡°Do you manually cook the food?¡± Dokie asks and drinks coolants. Yu: Absolutely! ¡°Best food in the galaxy!¡± Sylvia adds. ¡°Heavenly food!¡± K-13 shouts. ¡ãThe best there is!¡ã ¡°Better install biofuel converter and taste buds or something,¡± Dokie lets out, ¡°Ohhh. My love will cook food just for me!¡± Yu: No. Sylvia chuckles while K-13 enjoys the food in front of him, praying to any God and thanking them for all the blessing he received. ¡°BLESSED FOOD!¡± K-13 shouts and takes a bite of the crispy and juicy chicken leg. ¡ãOld Guy... I¡¯ll never forget the bread you gave me and that light tap for not praying. Thank you, also¡ã