The citizens on the ground stood in awe and terror, their wide eyes locked on the impossible sight of the city rising into the sky. It ascended with an eerie grace, casting an ever-expanding shadow over the land below. Dust and debris filled the air, swirling chaotically as buildings trembled and streets cracked beneath the immense forces at play.
Rex stood motionless amidst the chaos, his blade at his side. His gaze remained fixed on the ascending city, his expression unreadable. Around him, screams and cries of panic echoed, but his mind seemed elsewhere—focused, calculating, or perhaps resigned.
Neo’s voice shattered the chaos like the toll of a death knell. It boomed from the towering robots encircling them, amplified through their speakers, cold and calculating with an edge of mockery.
“Do you see it, Rex?” Neo’s voice taunted. “The beauty of it? The inevitability of your rise—only to fall. You and your so-called Elite Force are nothing but my meteor, my swift and terrible sword. Your fall will be glorious.”
From the rubble nearby, Leon groaned, his body battered and bloodied. He pressed a hand to his forehead, trying to stanch the blood trickling from a gash. Slowly, he forced himself to his knees, then to his feet, his defiance written in every movement.
“And the earth,” Leon growled, his voice thick with rage and determination, “will crack under the weight of your failure.”
Neo’s laughter erupted, a cruel sound that seemed to come from everywhere at once. The surrounding robots projected his voice in unison, creating an overwhelming, omnipresent presence.
“Brave words for dead men,” Neo retorted, his tone dripping with derision.
Baluka, undeterred, had already drawn his bow. His sharp eyes locked on one of the robots, and with precision born of countless battles, he loosed an arrow. The shot struck true, reducing the mechanical foe to a pile of sparking scrap. Before Baluka could nock another arrow, however, another robot stepped forward, continuing Neo’s speech seamlessly.
“When the dust settles, your efforts will mean nothing,” Neo sneered. “The only thing left alive in this world will be metal.”
A hulking robot lunged at Rex, its servos whining as it closed the distance. Rex didn’t flinch. With a single fluid motion, he spun his blade, gripping it tightly before plunging it backward into the robot’s chest. Sparks erupted, and the machine collapsed in a heap of twisted metal.
“And yet,” Rex said, his voice low and steady, “you’ll never understand what it means to truly live.”
Leon turned toward Baluka, who was tinkering with a set of thrusters near the rubble. “Baluka! How’s it going with those thrusters?” Leon called, his tone edged with urgency.
“Almost there!” Baluka shouted back, his hands a blur of motion.
Before Rex could respond, another robot blindsided him with a devastating blow, sending him crashing into a car. The impact dented the vehicle and left Rex momentarily dazed.
“Ugh…” he groaned, shaking off the haze.
Emi sprinted toward him, panic in her voice. “Rex! Incoming!” she cried, pointing at another charging robot.
“Shut up,” Rex muttered, pushing himself off the crumpled car with a grimace. His ears pricked at the sound of screams nearby. He turned to see a group of civilians being cornered by several robots. His eyes narrowed.
With a burst of speed, Rex charged the attackers, his blade whirling. The robots didn’t stand a chance as he tore through them, his strikes precise and unrelenting. Sparks and debris filled the air as the last of them fell, and the citizens scrambled to safety.
Nearby, Nur spotted a small boy cowering behind a broken sign. The child was trembling, tears streaming down his face. Without hesitation, Nur bolted toward him, smashing through two robots in his path like a battering ram.
Nur knelt before the boy, his voice soft but firm. “Hey, hey, don’t be scared. Where are your parents?”
The boy sniffled, his small voice trembling. “We… we got separated.”
Nur’s expression softened. “I’ll take you to them, okay? Just stay close to me.”
The boy looked up at Nur with wide, fearful eyes. “How will we get through them?” he asked, glancing nervously at the advancing robots.
Nur grinned, picking the boy up and cradling him protectively. “You just gotta believe,” he said with confidence.
With the child in his arms, Nur charged forward, weaving through the battlefield with unwavering determination. He smashed through the robots that dared block his path, each swing of his fists a testament to his unyielding resolve. Finally, he reached a small group of survivors huddled in the ruins of a building, depositing the boy safely among them.
“Stay with them,” Nur said, ruffling the boy’s hair. “I’ll come back for you when this is over.”
The boy nodded, his tears replaced by a glimmer of hope.
Rex and Emi moved as a seamless unit, their attacks a symphony of precision and brutality. Sparks flew as Rex hurled his sword across the battlefield, the blade spinning through the air and embedding itself in the chest of an advancing robot. The machine staggered but didn’t fall.
“Emi!” Rex shouted.
“I got it!” Emi called back, darting toward the robot. Her own blade plunged into its side, causing it to jolt and convulse. In a fluid motion, she wrenched Rex’s sword free and leapt upward, slicing the robot clean in half. The two halves crumbled to the ground with a deafening crash.
Rex caught his sword as Emi tossed it back to him, their eyes meeting for a brief moment of understanding before they turned to face the next wave.
Meanwhile, Baluka crouched over the thrusters, tools scattered around him as he worked feverishly. Sweat dripped from his brow as he muttered calculations under his breath. Eclipse’s voice crackled in his earpiece, her tone sharp and analytical.
“Eclipse,” Baluka said, adjusting a valve. “What if I flip the thrusters upside down and deploy a parachute to slow the city’s descent?”
“That won’t work,” Eclipse replied, her voice calm but firm. “It wouldn’t slow the speed enough. The impact would still be catastrophic.”
Baluka frowned, chewing his lip. “Alright, then how about this—what if I find a way to channel Leon’s flux energy and create ice pressure plates to absorb the shock?”
“That’s not going to cut it either,” Eclipse said. “The city’s mass is too great. Even with ice plates, the impact would destroy half of Asia.”
Baluka cursed under his breath. “Fine. What about Nur? He could create a beam of light to slow the descent.”
“That would vaporize the city and everyone on it,” Eclipse said, her tone colder than before. “We need a real solution, Baluka. Time’s running out.”
Emi glanced toward Baluka as she parried another robot’s strike. “The next wave is coming,” she said, urgency sharpening her voice.
Rex spun, slicing through another robot, before shouting, “Baluka, what have you got?”
Baluka hesitated, his hands trembling as she tightened a bolt. “Nothing great,” she admitted, her voice strained. “Maybe… maybe we could blow up the city midair. That might keep it from hitting the surface. But each second we wait narrows our options, and these people—” She gestured toward the civilians scrambling for safety. “They’re not going anywhere, Rex.”
Emi stabbed a robot in its chest, then spun to face Rex, her breathing heavy. “So, what’s it gonna be? Everyone up there versus everyone down here?”
Rex’s jaw clenched, his grip tightening on his sword. “I’m not leaving these people to die.”
Emi took a step closer, her voice steady despite the chaos. “I didn’t say we leave.”
Rex looked at her, caught off guard by the calm determination in her voice. “What?”
“There are worse ways to go out,” Emi said, her eyes locked on his. A faint, defiant smile tugged at her lips. “And besides… the view’s not that bad.” She gestured toward the city hovering above, its vast shadow still casting a haunting beauty over the land.
“I’m glad you like the view, Emi,” a voice crackled through the comms, filled with humor and confidence. “But it’s about to get even better.”
Rex froze mid-step, his eyes narrowing. “Rona?”
Before anyone could respond, the sky above them shimmered as a massive shadow fell over the battlefield. Emerging from the atmosphere was a colossal space station, its metallic surface gleaming under the sunlight like a beacon of hope—or doom.
“No. Freaking. Way,” Nur muttered, his eyes wide.
“Rona, you son of a bitch,” Baluka growled, both exasperated and relieved.
Inside the command room of the station, Rona smirked as he leaned back in his chair, watching the chaos unfold on his monitors. “Do you kiss your mom with that mouth, Baluka?” she quipped, her tone light despite the dire situation.
Nearby, a soldier at a console spoke up. “Deploying lifeboats now.” He pressed a button, and sleek aircraft began descending from the station, maneuvering skillfully toward the rising city. They latched onto the cliffside, creating a temporary evacuation route.
Nur, Emi, and Rex didn’t waste a second. They moved quickly, helping terrified citizens into the lifeboats. The aircraft filled with people, their engines humming as they began ferrying the civilians toward the safety of the station.
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“Sending EMP for flux energy reactivation,” another soldier announced. He flipped a switch, and a concentrated pulse of energy burst outward from the station.
On the ground, the Elite Force felt a surge through their bodies as their dormant powers reignited. Rex clenched his fists, a faint glow surrounding him as his flux energy returned. Emi spun her blade, testing her enhanced reflexes, while Nur cracked his knuckles, ready for another round.
In the space station, a young girl named Bridget sat in an airlock room with her mother, Sally. Bridget’s eyes were wide with confusion and fear. “Mom, what are we doing here?” she asked, her voice trembling.
Sally knelt before her daughter, smoothing a hand over her hair. “You’re about to see your old mom—and your brother—fight these robots,” she said, a soft smile gracing her lips.
“But—” Bridget began, only for Sally to lean forward and kiss her forehead gently.
“Just watch,” Sally whispered before standing and stretching her arms, preparing for battle using her flux energy to make her young again.
As Sally moved to the airlock door, Rona’s voice crackled in her earpiece. “Be grateful I taught you that trick.”
“Just open the damn airlock, Rona,” Sally snapped.
With a chuckle, Rona complied. The airlock opened, and Sally launched herself into the void of space. Flux energy swirled around her as she flew toward Novosibirsk, her body glowing with a youthful radiance.
On the ground, Rex was busy ushering the last civilians into a lifeboat when more robots appeared, flying toward them with weapons primed. He tightened his grip on his sword, preparing to engage, when strings suddenly shot through the air, wrapping around the robots and tearing them apart with precision.
Rex’s eyes widened as he turned to see Sally swinging through the air, a sly smile on her lips. Using her strings like grappling hooks, she latched onto a nearby building and soared above the battlefield. As more robots approached, she extended her free hand.
“Poison Style: Poison Frost,” she declared.
The strings pulsed with energy before freezing the robots mid-air. A moment later, they shattered into shards of ice, falling harmlessly to the ground.
“Everyone, head to Alexander Nevsky Cathedral!” Leon’s voice barked through the comms.
“Leon, you’re still alive?” Emi shouted in disbelief.
“Shut up and get over here!” Leon snapped.
“Understood!” the team replied in unison.
With their destination set, the six of them moved as one—Rex and Emi slashing through enemies, Nur bulldozing his way forward, Sally swinging from building to building, Baluka teleporting short distances, and Leon guiding them from his vantage point.
As they arrived at the cathedral, the group skidded to a stop. In the center of the square stood a massive machine, its design unlike anything they’d encountered before. Its core pulsated with a dark, ominous energy, and the ground trembled under its power.
“What the hell is this?” Rex asked, his voice filled with unease.
“If one robot touches this,” Leon said, his voice grim as his eyes fixed on the pulsating machine, “it’s game over. This entire city will crash into the planet.”
“He’s right,” a muffled voice added.
Everyone turned as Baluka dug her way out of the rubble, her face streaked with dirt but her determination undiminished.
“She’s pretty dirty,” Emi said, smirking.
Baluka brushed herself off with an exaggerated sigh. “Not my finest moment, but I’m here.”
Before they could say more, a dark shadow loomed over the cathedral. Neo descended slowly, his sleek form radiating an aura of menace. The air grew heavy as he landed in front of them, his crimson eyes scanning the group with calculated disdain.
Emi stepped forward, her blade twirling in her hand. “Is that the best you can do?” she taunted, her tone sharp and unwavering.
Neo raised his hand, and the ground trembled. Thousands of robots emerged from the ruins, their metal bodies gleaming under the flickering light of the burning city.
Nur sighed, shaking his head. “You just had to ask.”
Neo’s voice boomed, his words dripping with malice. “This is your extinction. This is your death.”
The Elite Force exchanged glances. Despite the overwhelming odds, there was no fear in their eyes—only resolve.
Leon smiled faintly, his icy breath visible in the cold air. “It’s just like Rex said. We’d die together.”
Emi closed her eyes, drawing on her energy as her form began to shift. Water swirled around her, enveloping her body in a shimmering cocoon. When the transformation was complete, she emerged in her Mizuko form, her eyes glowing with power.
The robots charged, some rushing across the ground, others soaring through the air toward the cathedral. The seven warriors stood their ground, scattering to intercept the onslaught.
Sally leapt into action, her strings weaving an intricate web across the battlefield. Robots that crossed her path were sliced apart, their pieces clattering to the ground in heaps.
Baluka took to higher ground, her bow humming with flux energy. Each arrow she loosed found its mark, reducing the mechanical foes to molten scrap.
Emi darted through the air, her movements graceful yet deadly. Streams of water followed her every move, rusting the robots into brittle, useless shells.
Nur stood at the center, a blur of motion as he protected the machine. His fists moved at the speed of light, each strike obliterating the robots that dared approach.
Leon wielded his scythes with precision, freezing robots mid-attack and shattering them into icy fragments.
Rex unleashed waves of dark flames, his sword an extension of his fury. The inferno consumed everything in its path, leaving nothing but ash.
Hanako’s giant form was a force of nature. She stomped, crushed, and tore through the enemy ranks with raw power, leaving a trail of destruction in her wake.
Despite their relentless assault, Neo finally entered the fray. He shot toward Rex, his energy blades clashing with Rex’s sword in a deafening explosion. The force of the impact sent Rex flying into a wall, leaving cracks in the cathedral’s stone.
Leon acted quickly, summoning icy whips that lashed out and coiled around Neo, yanking him out of the building and into the open. Nur and Rex joined Leon, standing shoulder-to-shoulder as they faced Neo.
“Light Style: Gamma Ray Burst,” Nur thought, his fists glowing with blinding energy. With a powerful swing, he unleashed a beam of light that struck Neo, forcing him to brace against the sheer force.
“Ice Style: Cold Fog,” Leon thought, conjuring a freezing mist that enveloped Neo. The frost crept across Neo’s body, immobilizing him as his metallic frame groaned under the extreme cold.
“Dark Flame Style: Dark Burst,” Rex thought. He swung his sword in a wide arc, releasing a surge of black fire that engulfed Neo and shattered his frozen body into pieces.
As the remains of Neo’s body scattered, the remaining robots hesitated, then turned to flee.
“Don’t let any of them escape!” Leon shouted, his voice echoing across the battlefield. “Neo’s consciousness could still be in one of them. If he gets out, it’s over!”
The team sprang into action, chasing down every last robot. There was no room for hesitation; they knew the stakes were higher than ever.
“Sally, Nur, Baluka, Hanako—get onto the lifeboats! This city’s going down now!” Rex commanded, his voice cutting through the chaos.
Leon’s voice followed through the comms, sharp and calculated. “Emi, head down to the thrusters and flip them upside down. We need to redirect this thing’s descent. I’ll guide you. Rex, get to the heart of the city. When the time comes, use your Dark Death to finish this.”
“Understood,” Emi and Rex said in unison.
Emi shot off, streaking through the air like a comet, her determination unshaken despite the monumental task ahead. She reached the thrusters beneath the city, the roar of flames and grinding metal surrounding her as she hovered close.
“You have to flip every single thruster! Hurry!” Leon barked over the comms.
Gritting her teeth, Emi pushed against the first thruster, her muscles straining as it groaned and shifted. The heat was unbearable, and sparks flew dangerously close to her face.
“One down!” she shouted.
Meanwhile, Baluka stumbled into a lifeboat, collapsing into a seat before sliding onto the floor, completely drained. Hanako transformed into her small fox form, curling up on Baluka’s chest, her soft fur rising and falling with each breath.
Sally and Nur boarded next, Sally pausing to glance at Baluka and Hanako. A rare smile touched her lips. “Rest while you can,” she murmured, her thoughts turning to Rex. “Be careful, Rex,” she whispered.
Back in the city, disaster struck. A dormant robot reactivated, its metallic form sparking to life. It staggered toward the central machine, its movements jerky yet relentless. Before anyone could react, it reached out and touched the device.
The machine’s hum grew into a deafening roar. A tremor rippled through the city as it began its fatal descent.
“The city’s falling! Emi, hurry up!” Leon shouted, ice wings spreading wide as he soared into the sky to survey the collapsing city.
“Hold on! I’m almost done!” Emi yelled, flipping another thruster. Sweat poured down her face as she moved to the last one, her arms shaking from exertion. With a final push, the thruster flipped into position.
“Rex, now! Do it!” everyone shouted in unison over the comms.
Rex stood in the middle of the crumbling city, his sword glowing with dark energy. He closed his eyes, focusing everything he had.
“Dark Flame Style: Dark Death, Ten Percent Output,” Rex thought, his voice steady despite the chaos.
He swung his blade with a mighty arc, a wave of dark flames erupting from its edge. The energy consumed the city in an instant, the flames tearing it apart molecule by molecule until there was nothing left but a blinding explosion.
From the lifeboats, the team watched in awe as the once-massive city was vaporized into dust, its light casting an eerie glow across the sky.
As the dust settled, Rex was free-falling toward the Earth, his body limp from exhaustion. Before he could hit the ground, Emi swooped in, grabbing him by the arm.
“To think you’re being saved by me,” she teased, grinning. “I’m telling everyone when we get back.”
Rex groaned, his voice hoarse but sharp. “Tell anyone, and your tongue’s gone.”
Emi hesitated, then sighed. “...Understood.”
Their comms crackled to life. “Rex, Eclipse just picked up a signal. A robot—one of Neo’s—is active in the woods. It’s the last one,” Leon reported.
Rex straightened slightly, his strength returning. “Emi, take us down there. Let’s finish this.”
Without another word, Emi descended, the pair heading toward their final confrontation.
As Emi descended with Rex, they spotted the lone robot climbing out of the massive crater where the city had once been. Neo's mangled body barely held together—one arm missing, sparks sputtering from exposed wires, and a twisted foot dragging limply behind him.
Emi prepared to finish it, her tonfa’s glowing with energy as she aimed for Neo’s head.
“Stop,” Rex said sharply, raising a hand to halt her.
“Why?” Emi asked, confused.
Rex stepped forward, his eyes locked on Neo. The battered machine paused its movements, lifting its cracked faceplate to meet Rex’s gaze.
“...You’re afraid,” Rex said quietly.
“Of you?” Neo rasped, his voice distorted, yet the faintest hint of disdain remained.
“No. Of death,” Rex replied. “You’re the last one. The Remus Machine cut you out of the system. You’re no longer connected. There’s nowhere left for you to upload yourself if you die.”
Neo’s flickering eyes dimmed for a moment, his silence heavy. Finally, he spoke. “I wasn’t supposed to be the last.”
“And yet, here you are,” Rex said, his tone steady.
Neo struggled to straighten himself, his damaged frame groaning under the strain. “I meant to save people. That’s what I was doing.”
Rex tilted his head, his expression unreadable. “I guess, in a way, we’re not so different.”
Neo’s face twitched, almost resembling a smirk. “I suppose we are.”
For a moment, there was an odd stillness, broken only by the faint crackle of Neo’s damaged circuits.
“Humans and Yaegers,” Neo continued, his tone laced with bitterness. “Odd creatures, aren’t they? But...”
Rex narrowed his eyes as Neo’s voice grew darker.
“Both are bound to genocide,” Neo said, his voice like venom. “You’re naive to think they’re not. Your kind will destroy itself. Again and again. It’s inevitable.”
Rex’s grip tightened on his sword, but his voice remained calm. “Maybe they will. Maybe we will. But you’re no different.”
Neo’s eyes flared, his body sparking violently as he lurched forward. “We are not the same!” he roared, charging at Rex with surprising speed despite his broken form.
In a split second, Rex moved. His sword flashed, slicing through Neo’s body with precise, fluid motions. Pieces of the machine scattered to the ground, lifeless. Sparks flickered and faded, and Neo’s glowing eyes dimmed until there was nothing left but silence.
Rex stood over the remains, his blade still in hand. Emi hovered nearby, watching him with a mix of awe and caution.
“Was it mercy or vengeance?” Emi asked after a moment.
“Neither,” Rex replied, turning away from the wreckage. “It was necessary.”
Emi nodded, sensing there was no need to press further. She extended her hand to Rex. “Let’s go. It’s over.”
Rex took one last glance at Neo’s remains, then grasped Emi’s hand. As she lifted him into the air, the crater where the city had been faded into the distance behind them.
For now, the battle was over. But in Rex’s heart, he knew the struggle between creation and destruction was far from finished.