The thunderous clouds lay dormant in the sky, resting above the rusted land of the small city Marston. Axel looks down at the ravaged city, as they fly to a brighter horizon just ahead of them. Exiting the bleak atmosphere of the city, they're met by a comforting and cheerful sky, kissed by the sun, as it welcomes them back into its warm and soothing light. Axel looks forward to V riding on his turbine-powered bike, soaring through the air, with the wind blowing divinely through his jacket. Axel sticks his head out of the window, as the strong wind ripples across his face, sending his hair flying and forcing him to squints his eyes while he shouts for V loudly, trying to get his attention.

Axel: "V! V!..... V! He can't hear me... O'Ton-omi, pull up next to V... The person in front of us for a moment"

O'Ton-omi: "Oh, is this a race?! I thought I was only following all this time... But now you are talking my language, Master Axel!"

Axel: "No, not a race. Just pull up next to him"

O'Ton-omi: "Boring, I got all excited too..."

O'Ton-omi boost ahead of V, zooming right past him and slowly decelerates, holing a steady pace in front of V. V then flies up beside them, shifting his gaze into the vehicle noticing Axel trying to speak to him, he then removes his helmet with a lift of the visor, turning it back into black sunglasses resting upon his forehead.

V: "What is it, kid?!"

Axel: "So where are you from?! You mentioned the people back home didn't want to come. Who are those people, more humans? A civilisation?!"

V: "Seriously kid, trying to hold a conversation mid-flight?! I'm not about to shout an entire conversation! So I tell what, I'll tell you once we reach the city!"

Axel: "Ok, But answer this... Your true goal in the city. Is it truly to save hundreds of humans?!"

V: "Yes, of course, it is!"

Axel: "How do you know they're there?! And why there of all the places. Why haven't The Primordial found them yet after all this time?!"

V: "When we land kid... When we land!"

V speeds ahead of O'Ton-omi, as he flicks his sunglasses back over his eyes, forming into his helmet. Axel sighs and sits back in his seat, wondering about his questions.

Axel: "How can he be so sure, that there are humans there... In that city"

Caesar: "I thought you trusted him... Now you have come to see how crazy his statements are? Are you now realising you were too quick to trust his intentions"

Axel: "No, I trust him. I just don't understand how it is possible, for hundreds of humans to be hidden under The Primordial's nose all this time"

Caesar: " Well it has happened before, with you and the dozens of pods Robin found you with"

Axel: "What happened to those other pods though"

Caesar: "We believe the remaining old droids might have gotten away with them, or, at least we hope so"

Axel: "Wait, do you think... That may be..."

Axel looks back to the children, all looking out of the windows, staring at the blossoming green scenery down below.

Axel: "These children, and the two droids who were watching over them... Are the remaining pods that were in the same room as me. Rosie said they were more than 10 of them, that the others were given to gold machines in exchange for something"

Caesar: "It is possible, but very unlikely seeing the distance they would have had to travel. While on the run from The Primordial's forces. It would've taken weeks to make it as far as they did away from the city. But I've seen those droids in action, they are capable of the unthinkable"

Axel: "I believe that they are, the other pods in the room with me, the remaining droids, I think this is all related to the night Mom found me. The droids, they were taking them somewhere, somewhere they were possibly programmed to take us if the original base was compromised. But only two droids? Mom said she saw at least 15 droids the night they saved her from the guards in the junkyard"

Caesar: "Correct, so far we have only accounted for 4 of them being destroyed, the two that aided us in our escape and now another pair who travelled with these children under their care. Maybe they split up in two's to avoid attention to themselves"

Axel: "We need to find out where they were going. That's why I want to know more about why V is going to New Anderthal, and why does he suspect more humans of being there of all places. Just maybe that could be the city the droids were taking these children to"

Caesar: "Hmmm, brilliant theory. But how will we be certain of this?"

Axel: "I guess we will find out once we reach there"

***

The Ace joins The King of the machine underworld at the table with the other heads of the machine organisation, The Joker and The Jack.

The Ace: "Why is The Queen not here with us. Is The Queen still not back from that expedition mission?"

The King: "Seems that way, any way, what of the news of our assassin? Has it killed that potential liberator of our products?"

The Ace: "No"

The Joker: "What is taking it so long? The target is merely a child. Hasn't even reached adulthood yet, why is it so hard to complete such a simple task?!"

The Ace: "Assassin 23 has located the target, but I advised it to only follow for now. Due to some interesting news, it had discovered"

The King: "What could be so interesting as to risk losing sight of this human liberator and potentially lose more of our stock again to a human child!"

The Ace: "When Assassin 23 had the target in its sights, it said the human was now accompanied by 11 other humans... All travelling somewhere together as we speak"

The King: "Now that is interesting..."

The Joker: "Very..."

The Jack: "So just have Assassin 23 kill them all then..."

The King: "Shut up you fool!"

The Ace: "That is not all... It appears they are travelling with a machine by their side as well"

The Joker: "Ha...Ha...Haaaa.... Very interesting indeed"

The Jack: "What will we do?"

The King: "Exactly the plan Ace already has in play. Have that assassin follow them for now, and potentially lead us straight to even more of them. But we won't take any chances of this failing, even if we only grab those 11 humans, after killing that liberator. Have all of our top hired assassins move to Assassin's 23 location to assist in this mission. All of them will report under Assassin 23 who reports to you, Ace"

The Ace: "Understood, I will inform Assassin 23 of the reinforcements now"

The King: "And let Assassin 23 know... Failure is unacceptable. Return with those 11 humans or return to its own destruction, those are Assassin 23's only options"

The Ace leaves the table, walking to the exit of the room.

The Ace: "Assassin 23... Your current orders are..."

***

Assassin 23: "...Understood, I will not fail you. Sending my current coordinates now so the others can start triangulating on my location"

Assassin 23 ends his communication with The Ace and stares ahead of him at Axel and the others, following behind them stealthily in the clouds.

Axel wakes up from his deep sleep and outstretches his arms as he looks back at the children sleeping peacefully in the back of the car. All except for Lily who still sits awake cradled in the corner of the car. Axel turns his gaze out of the window, looking down below.

Axel: "We've been flying over this body of water for a while now... Aren't we far from the mainland? Where is this city located?"

Caesar: "Yes we have been flying over a large body of water, that is because... New Anderthal is an island"

Axel: "An island?"

Caesar: "Yes, an island is a piece of subcontinental land that is surrounded completely by water"

Axel: "Wow... Is that it?!"

Caesar: "Yes, it would seem we have arrived"

O'Ton-omi: "Hey man that's my job!... Yes, Master Axel, we have arrived at your chosen destination, New Anderthal. The estimated time, until we can land, is 5 minutes. Where would you like to land?"

Axel: "Just keep following V"

V looks back as he waves his hand and points down below. He then accelerates his bike, descending down onto the island. O'Ton-omi follows behind shortly after, while Assasin 23 within his camouflaged jet hovers just above, watching as they descend.

Assasin 23: "New Anderthal... A major city... Reporting to all forces triangulating on my location, The targets have just made another stop, and it appears that this is their intended destination... New Anderthal. Meet me at the coordinates I have sent to you and await my orders"

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V takes his helmet off and puts it back into his pocket as it turns back into sunglasses. He gets off his bike, looking up into the air while O'Ton-omi lands before him.

O'Ton-omi: "We have arrived, New Anderthal... The only major city based on an island. It is also known as the largest island, and as you may have noticed it is covered in ice and snow. So be prepared for a cold embrace as you disembark from my warm and comfy interior you filthy animals"

Axel: "Snow... So I guess that's what I was seeing from up above. It looked like clouds laying on the ground from up there... Now it just looks like a white blanket covering the ground and nature... Amazing"

Caesar: "The children should probably stay in the vehicle. The temperature may be too cold for them since they are not appropriately dressed for this weather. O'To, what is the current temperature outside?"

O'Ton-omi: "It is currently 38 degrees Fahrenheit and 3 degrees Celsius"

V: "Hey! What's taking you guys so long? We're here! Come on out"

V shouts from outside of the vehicle as he looks through the windows, noticing the children awaking from their slumber. He then realises that they do not have any clothes to keep them warm in the cold.

V: "Oh! I see, hold on a second."

V walks back over to his bike, rummaging through his stuff stored in his bag strapped to the bike.

Axel: "What did he say? I didn't hear him very well. Anyway, I don't understand what that means... 38 degrees fah...rain what? Is that really cold?"

Caesar: "Yes it is, for an underdressed human that is"

V comes back to the window with small capsules in his hands tapping against the glass.

V: "Open up, I got just what you guys need"

Axel: "Open the door O'Ton-omi "

O'Ton-omi opens the door, letting in the freezing chill of the wind as it creeps in, sending a shiver down Axel and the children's spines. As the breeze blows stronger into the vehicle, V hops in quickly shutting the door behind him. Axel and all of the children tremble from the brief encounter of the wind outside. All except for Lily who still sat there cradled and unfazed by it.

V: "Yeah, didn't think about the cold when I was bringing you guys here, seeing as your clothes are all burnt full of holes and these children are dressed in old rags. But luckily I walked with these. There's 11, so one for everyone"

Axel: "What are these"

V: "It's a clothing capsule, here... Just tap this"

"BOOF!"

V: "And it explodes with whatever is compressed inside. In this case, it is clothing, winter clothing to be exact. They're all my size so they may be a little big for all of you but too big's a fit in my book"

Axel: "Wow... Where did you get something like this?"

V: "Back home...Anyway, get dressed. We have to get out of the open and look for somewhere to leave our rides"

Axel: "Okay, hey guys... Put these on"

"BOOF!" "BOOF! BOOF! BOOF! BOOF!" "BOOF! BOOF! BOOF! BOOF! BOOF!" The entire car fills with clothing as 10 suits of winter gear burst out of the capsules into the back with the children. After a few minutes, they all step out of O'Ton-omi dressed in their winter gear. All the children look around in awe, mesmerized by the radiant white snow surrounding all the land they could see before them.

Luca: "What is this?..."

Levi: "Where are we?"

Raine: "Why is it so cold?! This is worst than in our cage at night!"

Viktor: "This white stuff... It's soft but crunchy..."

Roc: "And it is cold..."

Axel: "It's called snow, this is my first time seeing it as well. And this city is called New Anderthal, it's on an island"

Aren: "An island?"

Luca: "What is that?"

Axel: "It's... uh..."

O'Ton-omi: "It is a piece of subcontinental land that is surrounded completely by water... Anyway Master Axel, I too have never been here. But unlike that scrap hole city called Marston that you made me go to... I still haven't forgiven you for that by the way. This one is actually quite pleasing and I believe I will be giving myself a tour around the island"

Axel: "What?"

O'Ton-omi: "Alright, see you later after I have finished observing the city"

O'Ton-omi starts up its engine and slams its doors shut locking them down and blast off straight into the air.

Axel: "O'To! Wait! You can't just leave us here!"

V: "And it's gone... well at least we won't have to worry about finding a place to hide that thing, let alone listen to it talk"

R3D: "Breee Ooooop"

Axel: "Not now R3..."

V: "You can understand that thing?!"

Axel: "Who? R3? Yeah"

V: "That's crazy..."

R3D: "Breee Oooop Oop"

V: "What did it say just then"

Axel: "Something not nice... Don't pay him any mind. R3 is a very sassy droid as my uncle Zaine puts it"

V: "Ahh, ok. Well let's get moving, I saw what seemed to be a cave just over this hill as I flew down here. That should be good enough for us to rest awhile and go over the plan"

They begin to travel up the steep slope of snow, heading to the cave. The children all play in the snow as they follow behind Axel, Scrappy and Ceasar holding R3 in his arms since he is unable to thread through the snow well.

Axel: "So tell me V, What is it like back home? Where you're from..."

V: "Ahh kid, couldn't wait to get those questions out uh? Alright alright... Well, I'm from a land very very far away from the cities you know of. The people there are all just like me, or worst... Chaos and strict order battle constantly among the people in my city, like an immovable object meeting an unstoppable force, neither comes out on top. It's a shit show most days, but it's all we've got left. I grew up in the streets where most of the chaos was birthed, and like a product moulded by chaos alone, I've learnt to adapt, to overcome and always be prepared..."

They reach the top of the snowy landscape, greeted by a powerful gust of freezing wind. V looks around for a moment and squints his eyes as he looks ahead of him, laying eyes on the cave he saw from up in the air.

V: "Come on, the cave is just over here"

Axel: "Come on guys, the cave is just ahead. We can all rest in there, be careful not to fall back down the slope. Scrappy get behind them and make sure no one is left behind"

V: "So my city... Where I'm from...It ain't nothing special. It's like every shithole left intact on this planet, but the only difference is it's the one city with the potential to change all of that. If we just gather all the remaining humans hiding away, struggling to survive or imprisoned as slaves for the sport of machines... We can change this world"

Axel: "Well, why didn't anyone else come along with you on your journey?"

V: "Like I said before, I came from chaos. When I finally made it to the ones with order and control, they only saw me as someone brewed in the chaos they lived in, only seeking to serve more of it to others. They believe my intentions could never be for the better interest of our people, but they are wrong. And the others from the streets of corruption like me are just plain cowards. Comfortable with the thought of others just like them, imprisoned or killed by machines for the sport of it. But not me, I wanna make a change, so when I got the information on this island, I knew I had to act on it, and bring these people home one day. Finally having others by my side, like me who are willing to save their kind from the torture, the struggle of surviving... From machines... From... Extinction"

Axel: "So how did you find out about this place... How do you know there are humans here for sure?"

V: "Because, just like these people... I was one of them... I was being taken here, I just never made it because I was lucky enough to be rescued, by liberators like me. Unfortunately, those liberators didn't inspire anyone else back home to continue what they did for me. So as the years went on, all the liberators retired leaving humans fighting out here helpless. I always wanted to find out where I was being taken so I could one day do what the liberators did for me that day and save the others. Who are unfortunate enough to be saved because no one came to help them... But now I have and that's what I will do"

Axel: "Wow... Well, now you have one more inspired liberator by your side. Let's do this"

V enters the cave and shakes his head as he chuckles a little at Axel's words.

V: "It ain't nothing easy kid, takes a whole lot more than just saying it to actually make a change"

V throws a capsule on the ground and begins to take his jacket off. "BOOF!" Small logs of dried wood burst from the capsule and lay in front of them, V throws another capsule on top of the dried wood. "BOOF!" A bright, warm flame burst out of the capsule, igniting the wood, and illuminating the entire cave. Comforting the children with a warm and cosy embrace as they enter in front of Scrappy and Caesar. Caesar inspects the damages done to himself and Scrappy's exoskeleton.

Caesar: "I need to make some repairs, most of my tools are within that despicable car, but luckily I prepared spare tools within compartments of my body"

Caesar removes his spare tools from a compartment extended from his abdomen and begins tinkering away on himself and Scrappy. fixing the broken parts on their bodies. As he listens in on Axel's and V's conversation, doubting every word coming from V's mouth.

Caesar: "So if there really are hundreds of humans within this city. How do you plan on getting them all off this island"

V: "I haven’t figured out that part of the plan yet but I'm sure whatever got them here is our ticket to get them out... The hardest part will be getting to them though. Where ever they are on this huge island"

R3D: "Breeee Oooop"

Caesar: "I agree, we need to have a fully-fledged plan before we even attempt to enter this city. Going in blind will inevitably lead to failure. We must have an escape plan prepared, that is the most important part of this mission. Getting away with the human captives. Only if we are successful in doing so are we truly saving them. Is that not your goal V?"

V: "Don't think I know that? That's why we are staying here until we revise a proper plan. And of course, that is my goal, what are you trying to say bot? It's funny that a machine doesn't trust a human to save others like himself..."

Axel: "Alright, calm down guys. We're on the same page here, let's formulate this plan"

V: "Well first of all you will need new battle gear in case stuff get 'sticky' and definitely better weapons... Don't wanna bring swords to a fight with the machines on this island"

V searches through his pocket full of the compressed capsules, while all the children gather around the fire, warming themselves.

V: "Ahh here there are"

"BOOF! BOOF! BOOF! BOOF!" Silver armour, glistening from the bright light of the fire reflecting off its shiny surface along with three clearly technically advanced weapons laid before Axel. Axel stands by in shock by the intimidating arsenal before him.

V: "Well go ahead, take your pick... I'm guessing you never shot, hell probably never held one of these weapons before but I will show you how to shoot before our mission"

Axel reaches for one of the weapons on the ground in front of him, V notices his broken wrist once again and remembers.

V: "Ahh your wrist... Forgot about that. I have a first aid kit in my bike's bag somewhere. Here this should help it heal faster for now"

V wraps Axel's hand in a sling for him, firmly bandaging it.

Axel: "Ouch!"

V: "It's a pretty outdated method and isn't very effective, well immediately that is but it shall do until tomorrow. We'll see how your wrist feels by then and if still isn't better I can use one of my medical capsules with my adrenaline and restoration shots. Though I think it best we keep those for more than just a broken wrist, like if we get in trouble in the city"

V notices Axel is now hesitant to pick up the weapons,

Axel: "I don't know if I can..."

V: "Ohhh, so that's how your wrist was broken uh... Don't worry kid, these bad boys don’t pack a punch. there's zero recoil, built-in stabilizers to prevent any sort of kickback to damage your wrist. So don't sweat it, you can fire one of those"

Axel: "Nice! Thanks, V"

Levi: "Axel... We want to help as well..."

Rosie: "The old droids took care of us, from the time we woke from our pods. Maybe the other pods were sent here as well by those shiny machines who took them"

Lucas: "If we can save the others just like us, we want to help any way we can"

Aren: "And maybe these humans can tell us more about the droids who raised us, maybe even tell us where the others maybe..."

V: "Marching into this city with a bunch of kids... I don't know. One was enough but at least I see Axel can handle himself. I don't know about you guys..."

V thinks to himself... Wait did they just say they were in pods... raised by droids... Who are these children, can I really trust them... And these machines they travel with, should I risk revealing our plan to machines who could betray us... me at any moment? This Axel seems to be have been raised by machines as well... was he from one of these pods too... Are they even...?

Axel: "I won't deny them taking on the responsibility of saving others... I too was just like them, wanting to save others just a day ago. The thought of standing by doing nothing while others suffer doesn't feel right to anyone with a good heart, that's one of the human qualities I'm proud to have, a good heart like my Mom once told me. So let's do it. I'm sure there's something they can help with."

V laughs softly as he shakes his head, looking at the innocent children in front of him.

V: "Well, I guess we can figure something out. The more helping hands, the greater the plan"

Axel's words of confidence and motivation reassure V's thoughts of doubt.

V thinks to himself... Doesn’t get any more human than that I suppose. I guess I can trust this one... Axel Iridian, a strange kid...

V: "Well, let's wait out this blizzard and think of the plan tomorrow, we can also get you in some practice firing the weapons as well. Of course, I don't have enough guns for everyone, these things aren’t cheap... Not that I trust giving them to 10 kids to run around with like toys anyway... But we shall decide what you guys will be doing during this mission tomorrow, let’s get something to eat..."

V sits down on the floor by the fire as he takes out some capsules with compressed food. "BOOF! BOOF!"

Axel: "Wow! even food?! This technology is amazing! How do you even make something like that?"

V: "It's complicated, that’s for sure. But don’t worry about that, just eat up and gain your energy. We got a big day ahead of us"

Outside the cave, in the distance, shadowed by the snowstorm. A small group of deadly, baleful machines all gather around Assassin 23 as it listens in on Axel and the other's conversation.

Assassin 23: "Have all the assassins arrived at this location?"

Assassin 14: " Only us three so far, the others are on their routes here now, and should be here within a few hours. Only Assassin 09 and 01 did not respond to the call..."

Assassin 19: "Bunch of cocky scrapturds"

Assassin 23: "As expected from those ones... We don't need 09 or 01 though. With this mission, we will all climb the ranks above them! Even earn a seat among the king himself and others heads of the underworld!"

Assassin 03: "That would be well worth my time..."

Assassin 23: "Hundreds of humans... Very interesting indeed... I will report this news to The Ace now"

***

The Ace: "What is it now Assassin 23?"