Ching

The resounding clash of metal reverberated through the cavern, drowning out all other sounds. Sweat streamed down Alex's face, chilling him despite the stifling air. Alex and the T-Cronophage battle both each traded blows. It was clear from the first blow, Alex clung to the wrench, fingers trembling, and sweat trickling down his face. He locked eyes on the metallic monster. The weight of the wrench pressed against his palms.

He was weak and barely holding the wrench tight enough to not lose grip on it. The T-cronophage footsteps creaking movements filling the air. Fear surged, heartbeat matching the machine's rhythm. He tightened his grip, eyes locked on the metallic monster. Its creaking sounds as it moved made Alex wary. It should be even heavier than himself. If he got pinned down, it would be game over. He couldn't let this thing get near him; he needed to create a safe distance.

I can’t let it get near me

Alex steadily stepped back, keeping a cautious distance as the creature encircled him. Its jaws and mouth oozed a disgusting liquid with each step it took. Its four legs made heavy thuds as it approached. The T-Cronophage was as smart as it was cunning, attempting to corner its prey against a wall. However, Alex wasn't naive. He moved deliberately in the opposite direction, heading steadily toward the tunnel that led to the exit. He didn't intend to run, as the journey back would involve an hour-long sprint. This escape route was his last resort.

Without warning, the beast lunged, a terrifying blur of movement. Alex braced himself, wrench raised in a desperate swing. The impact rang through his bones as the weapon connected.

Ching

The satisfying sound of metal striking metal echoed as Alex's wrench met its mark, a solid hit on the creature's face. But he was not prepared for the counter. Its claws, long and deadly, extended in an instant. Alex's reflexes were sluggish as one claw gouged deep into his chest, another slashing across his right shoulder. Agony exploded within him, a searing fire that threatened to overwhelm his senses. He stumbled back, both of them momentarily downed.

Gasping for breath, Alex's heart raced. The pain was blinding, his wounds throbbing in time with his racing pulse. In the space of a heartbeat, they were on their feet once more. Alex's fingers moved instinctively to his right wrist, where his prime tool rested. The T-Cronophage, undeterred by the blow to its dome, rose on its four legs, ready for the next assault.

I remember I had a few things in my Digi space. I hope they work

.

Alex knew he wouldn't be able to prolong this fight. His thoughts were resolute whispers amid chaos. A plan formed within his mind. He was someone who enjoyed tinkering and building many things over the past decade, yet most of them were a little too dangerous and unsuitable for regular use. But who said they couldn't be repurposed as weapons? And he had something that he hadn't used for a few years. He had kept them tucked away in the Digi-space of his primary tool, hoping to fix them as he learned. He just had enough power to materialize three things before his prime tool would become a dud.

Three objects materialized in his hand. One resembled a sleek drill. Alex swiftly equipped the drill in his right hand. In his left hand, he held two ball-like objects etched with intricate patterns that hinted at concealed mechanisms within. The T-cronophage wasted no time and lunged forward, unleashing a barrage of sharp shards from its body. Reacting with agility, Alex narrowly evaded the projectiles but lost his footing, stumbling into a crater in the uneven cavern ground. His heart raced erratically as he tumbled to the ground, the impact sending a jolt of pain through his body.

Before he could fully register his fall, the T-cronophage pounced on him, jaws snapping dangerously close. Yet, he had been prepared for this very moment. A cunning grin curved his lips as he pointed the drill. With a resounding blast, the drill shot forward like a torpedo, hurtling relentlessly toward its intended target.

Swoosh

“Eat this”

The T-Cronofage moved swiftly through the air, its limbs rotating and dislocating like interchangeable machine parts. It deftly dodged a drill head that barely grazed its chest. However, its attention was diverted when it noticed Alex covered in a slimy goo.

The drill that had launched the drill head now hovered in front of the T-Cronofage as if it had been tossed into the air. A spark ignited within the malfunctioning hand drill. The beast instinctively sensed something was amiss and that it needed to shield itself, but it was too late.

Who would've thought my ridiculed inventions would come in handy like this? Hope I make it through this.

"3, 2, 1… Boom!" Alex counted, bracing himself. His crazy plan worked. He was used to his contraptions blowing up, after all. Those balls he had were packed with heat and shock-resistant lubricant, despite their small size. Packed like sardines in a tin can, holding gallons of the stuff. He kept them around because of his work with hydraulics. He knew it was a half-baked idea when he decided to cover himself with the stuff – a last-minute move.

Boom!

An enormous explosion burst forth, enveloping both the beast and Alex point-blank. The faulty drill contraption detonated, sending shockwaves that rattled the cavern walls. Alex was desperate, hoping beyond hope that his plan would work out somehow. It was a do-or-die situation, a coin toss between meeting his end and surviving. He was betting everything on survival, though the explosion's force knocked him out cold.

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When the smoke cleared and the debris settled, the one standing tall was the T-Cronofage. Its limbs were battered and gouged from the blast, a testament to the explosion's power. Yet, it remained standing, albeit barely. It limped forward, closing in on its prey – a predator unwilling to let its prize slip away. But then, it suddenly halted a hint of hesitation in its gaze. It sized up its wounded quarry, uncertainty flickering in its eyes.

"Integration at 56%... well, he held on long enough, it's still not complete, but I have enough to work with. I'm taking over..." Alex's voice uttered those words, even as he lay unconscious.

Alex lay motionless, his upper body jolting as if compelled by some unseen force, his form half-risen while still prone. His eyes remained inert, his muscles twitching minimally. He seemed to be a puppet under external control. Rising unsteadily, the unconscious Alex smoothed out the tattered remnants of his jumpsuit.

The T-Cronofage hesitated, stepping back, sensors and instincts urging it to flee. Yet, it emitted a low growl directed at Alex. It was the perfect candidate for its evolutionary advancement. The readings of tech it received were beyond extraordinary.

" You dare to growl at me? you inferior, fucking species" Alex's voice emerged, but it was an eerie imitation. A discordant resonance had crept into his tone – a pitch too low, tinged with a disquieting edge. His facial features contorted, an unsettling transformation taking place.

With a swift gesture, Alex's hand transformed into a myriad of interconnected spikes, an extension of his arm. A hundred spikes shot forward, propelled by unseen power, hurtling toward the beast at unmatched velocity. Some missed their mark as the T-Cronofage evaded, yet the tendrils pursued their target with unerring precision, homing in like guided missiles, piercing the creature's form.

"You're not even worth being assimilated, but complaints aren't a luxury I can’t afford. My human's life takes precedence," Alex declared, his words carrying an air of grim determination.

A mouse caught in the grip of a cat! Ha-ha!

Alex licked his lips in an eerie way as the spikes started to squirm and pierce the T-cronophage's skin and organs. It screamed agonizingly as it was mercilessly being assimilated. Its body and everything slowly shrank, the tech being gouged out and absorbed into the tendrils piece by piece, absorbed by the tendrils and spikes as it tried to break free. It made its best attempts and somehow succeeded in getting free as it tore off 2 of its limbs that were being pinned down. Half of its body was torn, but the main nucleus survived. It ran towards the exit tunnel as its organs bounced with its half body being dragged. For an hour, it ran as best as it could. It sensed that Alex didn't follow it and was devouring the rest of its body.

It ran as best as it could to escape the cavern. Finally, the light shone on the half-dead T-cronophage. It wanted to find its pack. It had been hunting in its pack but ventured into the cave because it had picked up a reading.

In the open terrain, it was nearly on its deathbed, but it was close enough to rest, being less than 100 meters from its pack as it walked out of the general area. Its body froze in its tracks, unable to move. This was something it had never expected. An entity was feasting on dozens of its kind, nearly finished. Alex stood there without movement as he spent cleaning the area.

"Pathetic! I hardly gained much from absorbing you vermin. I should have just gone into hibernation mode."

"Maybe I'll extract something worthwhile from you?" Alex whispered with a menacing grin.

The half-dead T-cronophage teetered on the edge of its last breath, convulsing and stumbling in its final moments, consumed by unrelenting terror.

"Huh! It's dead... At least my human's vitals are stable now. I'll slip into hibernation mode and indulge in head pats later, once I've reconstituted my form."

Like a lifeless log, Alex plummeted to the ground without any reaction. He sprawled across the desolate landscape, a stark contrast to the disturbing events that had just transpired.

Meanwhile, Gobo and his team cautiously advanced toward the location indicated by Alex's fading trail. The scanner had provided a rough direction, and though the journey had been arduous, the initial anomaly they encountered was unlike anything they'd expected. They shouldn’t have been here in the first place. Most were seen in a graveyard rather than a desolate place like this. A creature that struck fear into the hearts of all who beheld it.

"Sir, a T-cronophage ahead! Stage 1!" Rod's voice shattered the tense silence, a frantic warning that pierced the air as the monstrous entity locked its attention onto them, a malevolent awareness emanating from its very being.

A massive creature, dwarfing everything around it, possessed a body of house-like proportions. Hovering effortlessly in the air, its massive form was a collection of appendages, each distinct in formation.

The creature's body exhibited a textured and colorful mosaic, combining sinewy sinews and rugged ridges seamlessly. Countless appendages adorned its form—some swaying, others robust and muscular. These appendages showcased a variety of formations. Yet half of its body had a metallic texture covering various appendages. The eyes part was all replaced by lenses and a screen displaying an eye.

As it hovered ominously, the creature emitted a bone-chilling resonating hum that reverberated through the air and the very souls of the onlookers. Its eyes, or eye-like features, speckled its grotesque form, their unnatural shimmer casting eerie glows.

"Everyone, unleash all of our firepower at it! We must obliterate this abomination before it takes action!" Gobo's voice trembled with urgency as he assessed the nightmarish scene. The creature was an imminent threat, a terror lurking in their midst.

The group, well-prepared for such harrowing encounters, followed Gobo's command with precision. In a relentless battle that stretched on for an agonizing hour, they fought tooth and nail against the T-cronophage until it lay defeated. With grim determination, they continued on their path, following the rough direction indicated by the scanners, their nerves still on edge from the horrifying ordeal.

As they were closing in on the general location that the scanner pointed. Everyone spotted Alex lying motionless on the ground next to the half-dead, half-torn T-cronophage. Dread immediately consumed them, and they rushed to his side with urgency in their steps.

As they approached, the heavy, rhythmic thuds of mechs created an earth-shaking sound, bringing them to a halt just a few feet away from him. One armored suit pressed forward and reached Alex. It was Gobo's suit.

"All vitals appear normal. Alex is safe. Just a few minor injuries," Rody reported as his device scanned Alex from head to toe with a laser projection.

Gobo's suit hissed as it released steam and pressure, revealing the small figure inside. Gobo had been caring for Alex for the past two decades, from infancy to adulthood. To say that he adored him would be an understatement. He gently caressed Alex and playfully slapped him clean, the force causing Alex's head to bounce in his embrace. Although everyone believed Alex to be unconscious, he had just woken up, feigning death until this moment.

"I got caught. Dammit!" Alex's whispered realization pierced the tension, his words heavy with emotion.

"Awooo. Pops, you're ruthless," Alex said as he rose to his feet.

"You damn hooligan! How dare you do this! How dare you treat yourself as if you were disposable?" Gobo's voice was on the verge of breaking, his emotions raw and palpable.

Gobo's language shifted to his native Axian tongue, and Alex simply listened, unwilling to interrupt. He had made the gravest mistake of his life and didn't want to witness Gobo's anguish. Gobo fell silent after his outburst and pulled Alex into a tight hug, catching Alex off guard.

"Don't you ever do something like this again? I can only do so much. I thought I lost you!" Gobo choked out the words, tears welling up in his eyes.

Alex's tears flowed freely as he heard those heartfelt words. He clung to Gobo, desperately seeking forgiveness and longing to move forward. This moment marked the end of his shattered dreams. there was no treasure, no hope of uncovering his origins. He had risked his life needlessly, and now he understood the true value of what he had in Gobo as a family.

In silence, Alex conveyed his deep remorse, knowing that no words could adequately express his sorrow for causing Gobo such worry and pain.