Tales From The Promised Land Echoes

”Its been a few days. ” Cherrie and Rosemary sat with their legs crossed on the metal catwalk. Before them was Xavier, floating in his cell, who was chewing the onigiri they brought him while they ate their blocks of nano-fuel. Cherrie spoke, ”They discharged her from the hospital and now she spends most of her time in her dorm room. Shes lethargic. But, other than that she is healthy.

”This all happened because the Emperor was being selfish… ” Rosemary remarked with a rather deflated tone.

”You know his relation with Xavier. ” Cherrie responded, leaning back with her hands planted on the floor behind. ”You know as well as I do what will happen when that Harvester is fired. Out of us all, Xavier is the only one that would survive. ”

”How sweet. ” Rosemary wrinkled her nose, indignantly squinting. ”Yet the Emperor subjected him to deep mental trauma just to force Xavier to make that decision. Putting him in our dorm so he can forge acquaintances and other bonds with us was only a factor in the Emperors method. ”

Xavier swallowed his food and added, ”The whole thing where he had Elita-001 bring me food everyday was the centerpiece of his plan. I knew the whole time he was toying with me. Yet I allowed myself to fall in love with her… ”

”It can be helped. ” Rosemarys tone shifted to a high reassuring one. ”One just happened to have a body similar to Ariels. ”

”Same number, too. ” Cherrie said flatly.

”Something about One felt similar, though… ” Xavier stared at the half-eaten onigiri in his hand and muttered, ”I swore I heard an echo the last time she and I touched… Almost like it was that day… ”

Rosemary frowned, ”On the topic… I was called in to analyze the anomaly known as Echoes in the Ether. I am among the best analysts and engineers in the Crystal City Ether Center. Yet the signal being used and the programming is very odd. It is almost as if the Echoes aren there but you can still hear them. I can even pinpoint where the signal is coming from either… ”

”Tell me… ” Cherrie groaned, rolling her eyes and picking her nose. ”Haven Echoes existed before? They were called ghosts or whispers, right? ”

Rosie, with closed eyes, faced Cherrie and confirmed in her usual chirpy tone, ”Um, yes, however there is a difference. Ghosts are known to be leftover commands of the brain or CPU after they have fried. Tends to be a case of cache that haven been disposed of. We have seen it from time to time, like when Lord Megatron kills the pilot but the mech still twitches… ”

Xavier finished his Onigiri and leaned in to engage, ”Isn that what these Echoes are then? ”

Rosie shook her head. ”These aren ordinary human whispers. In fact, it is inhuman. If a headless robot, or an artificial intelligence gains a ghost, the empire treats them as threats. Like the age old superstition, any artificial intelligence that gains sentience must be eliminated before they destroy us. ”

”So you are saying… ”

”This ghost doesn belong to a human, nor does it belong to a regular AI. ” Rosemary forewarned with a grave tone, ”Whatever is making these echoes, must be something truly beyond a normal artificial intelligence. And it was the Architect that unleashed it into the Ether. ”

”No wonder the Emperor is intent on finding her as soon as possible… ” Cherrie folded her arms.

”Whatever the Architect has planned for the empire cannot be good… ”

There was a knock at the door.

Orion:Pax-777 jolted up from his seat and shot a quick glance at the door.

”Hey, its Michi. ” Michelangelo whispered.

Sighing, Seven got up and reached for the door. He placed his hand on the magnetic plate and pulled it open slowly. Peeking his head through, he asked quietly, ”Yeah? ”

”Wow. You look like shit. ” Michi sounded surprised.

”Bro. ” Clearly irritated, Apocalypse pinched the bridge of his nose.

”Oh, sorry. ”

”So. We are here to warn you that Coe might be a pedophile. ”

Michis face froze, mouth gaping open. Shaking his head, he denied, ”No, he isn ! ”

Apo groaned glaring at Michi, ”He is going around asking all the kids to call him Mama Coe. What else am I supposed to think? ”

”It doesn mean he is a pedo, bro- ”

”Guys. ” Seven put his hand between them and said, ”Can you tell me what is so important? ”

”I, well, we just said- ” Apocalypse tried to explain.

”Well, HE was saying, ” Michi interrupted, and emphasized, ”I was saying that we are almost out of soda. ”

Annoyed, Seven closed the door on them.

With his hand on the metal plate, Seven heavily sighed.

”Seven? ” A small voice whispered.

He perked up and turned to see laying on the futon was a small girl from across the room. The thick, puffy blanket, which she was tucked snugly under, came up to cover her mouth and nose. Only her big blue eyes were visible and her pink hair drizzling down the side of her face.

Much to his despair, though he tried only focusing on the light in her eyes, he couldn ignore the glaring detail of the cracks in her frame and faceplates.

Frowning, Seven slowly approached her side and sat down on the chair propped by the bed.

”Why don you go out and get some more groceries? ” One asked kindly. ”It has to be better than just sitting here with me forever… ”

Seven sucked in his lips and exhaled. He reached for her hand under the blanket and squeezed. ”I don want to leave your side for even a second. Every second with you is precious to me right now… ”

One lowered her eyebrows and her eyes seemed to twinkle. She whispered, ”I don want you to waste anymore time with me… ”

Sevens grasp on her hand tightened, ”How can you say that? Do you not want me here with you? … ”

”Seven… I just- ” She went quiet. Her eyes slid upward and froze.

”One? ” Suddenly, his vision went dark. He saw red text in the corner of his eyes. ”Optical and Audio sensors are down? What the hell is going on? ”

He tried to speak but even his whole body couldn move. It was as if he was frozen.

What the hell is going on?

One rose her head slightly, blanket sliding off of her face, and looked at the woman who had walked in. She made no noise and slipped in as if she was a phantom. Perhaps she was because this woman was none other than the Grim Reaper herself.

”Primacron? ” One softly uttered.

The woman put a finger over her lips as if to ask One to be silent.

Concerned, One looked at Seven who was only frozen in place. Even his face set as it when she walked in, giving her the usual look of love and concern.

Panicked, she sat up and shook him, ”Seven! ”

The sudden burst of energy had made her light-headed, and she fell back onto the bed. Groaning, she squinted at Seven, her breathing hasted in worry.

”He is fine. ” The woman spoke in a low, ghostly tone. ”His brainwaves are normal. Vitals are functioning as they should be. But you? I suspect you don even have forty-eight hours left… ”

One looked up at the Architect and croaked, ”What do you want with me? ”

She was silent for a moment before finally saying, with a flicker of passion in her eyes, ”Everything… ”

Emilia groaned and opened her eyes. She was slumped over the counter at the end of the bar. It was quiet at this hour, minus the clinking of washing dishes, and the faint music playing overhead, the bar was enjoying a moment of quiet.

Blinking, she wiped the saliva from her mouth and looked up at the television screen.

The newscaster bot, all dressed up and sleeved to look like a human, reported, ”The surge of Echoes seem to have died down but the search for the source goes on and the Architect remains at large. If you have seen this woman or have heard rumors of her, please make a report at the nearest Police Station.

Drowsy from waking, Emilia was half-listening while she rubbed her face roughly and pulled her hair and wings fins back He continued, ”In other news, with 25 days remaining in the Month of Freedom for slaves, celebrations are in full force. However, on some parts of the world, Slaves are using this chance to rebel. The instigators were immediately neutralized but some officials are worried for escalating tensions. Some are even calling for the cancelation of the Month of Freedom. The Emperor has responded to the situation and reassured citizens of the Primedaul have nothing to worry. I think we all can be confident in the Empires military strength. ”

Emilias attention trailed off to the object in her hand. Realizing her hand was empty, she barked at the bartender on the other side of the counter, ”Jams! Coffee! ”

”You have been here for days. ” Jams receded behind the cash register and glared at her, ”Do you plan on going home yet? ”

”No, I live here. ” Emilia pulled out her wallet and slammed some paper and coins on the counter. ”Here is my rent! Now get me my coffee and a sprinkled donut! ”

Emilia heard a ping in her head and opened a notification in her Iris, it was a call from Sophie. Ignoring Jams, who mumbled several slurs, Emilia let the call through.

”Emi, where are you? ” Sophie sounded worried.

”Check your GPS. ” Emi thought in response, keeping her convo private. ”I am where I usually am. ”

”We are worried, though. ” Sophie told her, ”Arzee and Dion are still missing and their GPS have not been active. Apocalypse says that Ersa and Klover went missing after the concert, too. ”

”Maybe they are all dead in a ditch? ” Emilia scoffed aloud and sat up straight when Jams delivered her order.

She took a sip of her hot, steaming coffee while Sophie exasperated, ”Emi! This is serious. I don want you disappearing, too. Just come home. ”

”Im staying here… I am not going to a dorm full of sadness. ” Emilia set down her cup and reached for her donut. Taking a bight, she continued, ”Im staying here where I can relax and enjoy myself. If I were to disappear tomorrow, Id rather vanish on this chair. ”

Sophie sighed and told her, ”Fine. Just be careful. We love you. ”

Emis frown disappeared and her cheeks swelled, ”I love you guys, too. ”

The call ended and she looked back up at the TV, ”And now for the weather, we have a snowstorm coming into the Polyhex region and… ”

She heard some crashing and peeked past the rim of her mug to see a group of boys entering the bar.

Disrupting the tranquility of her quiet morning start, a tall, lanky man had come barging in and announced with a mocking tone, ”Honey, Im home! ”

”Oh… its you. ” Jams sounded deflated.

Emilia recognized the other behind him. A small kid, wearing a black jacket with a red trim, popped up next to him. On his jacket was a barcode that read: ”Wraith-117 ”.

It is a kid known as the Red Glitch.

”Yeah, it is me. ” The tall-guy sounded pleased. ”Any specials today? ”

Emilia forgets who the other guy is but the person that stood on their other side? Seeing a dark mass loom from behind the young men, like a cumulation of their shadows, Emilia felt both a tinge of fear and excitement.

”The special today is a Slammin Yam Martini with a side of Toast with Slammin Blueberry Jam. ” Jams explained, sounding rather unexcited.

”Slammin! Ill take it. ” The tall man smiled setting down his card.

This big man wore a pair of small, black shades. His face was as straight as she hoped him to be. He had short golden blonde hair and he wore… a colonels uniform. Emilia felt something within her come undone. She just realized that she loved a man in a uniform. Especially one with such broad shoulders and large muscly arms. Bo, would she love to be crushed by his arms…

Emi realized she was drooling as she walked toward her direction, lighting his cigarette. Panicking, she wiped her face clean and hastily lifted her mug back up to her lips, spilling some hot, scalding coffee on her face.

Holding back tears, she suppressed a shout trying to tough out the punishment from the burning water.

To her relief, the colonel wasn walking toward her but made himself a seat by the register. She wanted to look at him more but didn want to make it obvious. She turned her head to the TV but turned her eyes in his direction.

Studying the curves of his bulging figure, she couldn help but overhear their conversation.

”What will you have, kid? ” Jams asked Wraith.

”Just a cranberry juice… ” Wraith nodded.

”What, are you on your period? ” The tall man scoffed, walking past the register after getting his card back.

”Our bodies are cyborg, we can have periods. ” Wraith pointed out, pulling out his card.

The tall man made a face, a mixture of disgust and annoyance. He waved his hands at Wraith as if shooing a buzzing fly, ”Ah, I was just making a movie reference, you absolute buzzkill. ”

”Sit down, N. ” The Colonel spoke. His voice was deep and smooth, like a humming engine of a semi-truck. As he asked, N walked past the Colonel and sat in the seat next to him.

”Isn it, Commander now, boss? ” N sighed, folding his arms over the counter.

”Is a slave asking me to address him by his title now? ” The Colonel sounded annoyed.

N quickly held his hands up from the counter and reassured, ”Oh, not at all boss, I was just- ”

”If you are confident enough to be preening your feathers, I assume you have fulfilled your quota. ” The Colonel asked.

”Uh, yes, ” N nodded, ”We rounded up the last of them an hour ago. ”

”If you were an ideal soldier, you would have finished days ago. Like Glitch, who met the quota in less than five hours.

N squinted at Wraith, who casually walked past them, uninterested. He must be called Glitch. N muttered, ”Yeah, but Glitch is such a kiss-ass. ”

Glitch took a seat by N and interlaced his fingers, waiting patiently for his drink.

Now there are two annoying boys sitting in the way of Emilys eye candy. Frustrated, she looked back at the TV and set her mug down. She picked up her donut and bit into it furiously.

Chewing, she heard Glitch say, ”You know I prefer to get my Story Missions out of the way. ”

N spun his chair to squint at the boy. ”You don even know why we are rounding them up. ”

”It doesn matter. ” Glitch closed his eyes and said, ”The rhyme or reason doesn affect me or my ability to receive the extra story mode content. ”

”All it is in the end, ” The Colonels voice rose above their banter, a large puff of smoke wafting from his cigar, ”We are purging the surface of its slave numbers and enlisting them to become pilots. ”

”Why though? ” N asked. ”Don we have enough. White Angel finished her quota hasn she? ”

”No, she has been distracted. Focusing on her Side Quests and interacting with NPCs all day. No wonder she hasn been promoted in ages. ”

”The Emperor wants leverage against the slaves during these last days of the Celebration. ” The Colonel explained. ”Well have an advantage over them, when they are unwilling to shoot one of their own. ”

”NPCs are predictable. ” Glitch explained. He turner to face Emilia and said, ”Like this one here, she has been here for days. She is programmed to be here. When the month of freedom ends, shell go back to her job at construction. ”

”Who are you calling predictable? ” Offended, Emilia rose her voice.

”So are you saying you will leave this bar right now or anytime within the next few days? ”

”Well, um, no! ” Emilia stammered, folding her arms. ”I like it here. ”

”I rest my case. ” Glitch nodded.

N popped his head over Glitchs shoulder and said, ”Ah, she is a beaut. ” He stood up and swaggered over to her chair. Emilia tensed up and grabbed her mug. A shimmer of fascination shined in his eyes as he smiled, ”Ah, yes, I know who you are. You are one of them hostess girls at the gentlemans club across town. ”

Emilia was already annoyed by these two men but this guys arrogance was suffocating. Composing herself, she tilted her head back at him, ”So what? ”

”So what? ” N tossed his hand in the air, ”Dance for me! These are precious days of our immortal lives! After all, I am a government official. It would be your patriotic duty. ”

Emilia did everything in her power to suppress her disgust. If he did anything else, she was afraid of what she might end up doing. When N leaned in close, bringing his face to hers, he invited, ”What do you say, baby? ”

N dragged his fingers across her cheeks lightly and whispered, ”Lets have some, fun. ”

She couldn hold it in any longer.

Yelling in anger, Emilia smashed the cup into Ns face. The glass shattered and rained scalding coffee over them both, the remains spilt and splattered by their feet. In a rush of adrenaline, Emilia barely felt a thing.

N, however, in shock and anguish, staggered back clutching his coffee-covered face. Like a wounded dog, he whimpered and barked, ”Ah! You bitch! ”

”Back off, you ass! ” Emilia snapped, jumping from her chair. ”Lay your hands on me again and Ill snap your neck! ”

”Why you little- ” N seethed.

Glitch got up from his seat and glared at her. His red eyes glowed. Emilia could see the letters ”hostile ” and a red target surrounding her reflection in his iris.

”We have an issue regarding an NPC that could affect gameplay. Ill resolve this shortly. ” Glitch said with a frightening tone.

Emilia backed up in fear as the two boys stepped toward her. Her mind was racing, wondering if she could shoot her way through. But if she tried to activate the blasters in her arms, they would only remotely deactivate them.

What can she do.

”Enough! ” A deep voice boomed.

It was as if with a single command, the entire world went quiet just to heed his order. The two boys immediately turned around and stood at attention with their hands at their sides. She watched between them a large figure rising from his seat. He slowly approached her, the bar echoed with the sound of his boots falling heavily on the metal floor. After walking past the boys, he stood still to take a hit of his cigar and exhaled softly, smoke flowed upward from his nostrils like chimneys.

Emilia was unsure what to do. However, unlike the other boys, this man gave off a commanding aura. She couldn explain it. But she was more inclined to listen to him than the others. To comply, she relaxed and then held her hand up.

”Im sorry. ” Emilia lowered her voice, but her annoyance still remained, ”But he was being a prick. ”

”Yeah. That is his worse quality. ” The Colonel put out his cigar on his coat sleeve. ”I apologize for his behavior. You are a slave on leave, so you aren obligated to do as you are told. However, assaulting citizens or government employees are actions prohibited by the Empire. ”

N blurted, ”Yeah! The last person the Colonel Punished ended up in the hospital in critical condition! You better brace yourself! ”

The Colonel held his hand up to N to silence him. The Colonel looked back down at her and he spoke, ”I consider myself a loyal subject of the Emperor. I will follow his every command and all laws to the letter. However, just this once, Ill allow you to return to your leave. Only because the recent disciplinary action left a bad taste in my mouth. ”

Relieved, Emilias eyelashes fluttered and smirked. ”Hm. Now that is more like it. ” She sat back down as the Colonel started to turn away, then she said, ”You are certainly a man of noble qualities. Unlike the gremlins you keep in tow… ”

N scoffed and flipped her off while Glitch folded his arms, staring at his feet, while he pondered to himself, ”Is she really an NPC or another player…? ”

”You may be spared from discipline but I still can let you off the hook. ” The Colonel told her. ”You may stay here, but you can not leave. ”

Jams exclaimed in the background, throwing his rag across the bar, muttering curses.

Emilia chortled, ”That is fine by me, but hey… ”

She got his attention and spread her knees apart. After raising one leg over the other, she relaxed back into her seat, grasping the sides of the barstool. Emilia shook her head to move her hair our of her eyes and invited him with an sultry tone, ”Later, why don you come back and have a drink with me? Lets get to know each other a little more. ”

She could see N in the corner of her eyes looking disappointed and pissed. Groaning, and rolling his eyes, he walked away in defeat while the Colonel replied, ”If I have to come back, you will regret it. So, you better not cause too much trouble. ”

Emi smiled, ”You bet. ”

When he walked away, Emi called to Jams, ”Get me a martini, Jams! ”

She pulled herself back to the counter and frowned at the half-eaten donut. Emi thought, ”I figured out who you are, Colonel Nero… You can bet on it… You will come back. ”

She grabbed her Donut and brought it to her mouth.

”…When you do, Ill make you suffer for what you put Elita, through. ”

She took a bite and pondered. This bar is a usual hangout for the Four Anubis. For a long time, the Lieutenant ”White Angel ” has been a mystery. However, with all these important figures tied with their own fates, the fates of all the slaves from the Dorm, it is no longer a mystery.

”Explains why you have been gone for work. ” She thought to herself.

It was strange.

A complete blackness in which he couldn sense anything other than his own thoughts came and went within minutes. When he opened his eyes, Seven could see One again. But the light in her eyes had disappeared, and her smile was gone. All that was left in her face was that of horror.

He tried asking what was wrong and kept saying, ”It is nothing… ”

That was hours ago.

Now, Seven sits on the sofa, where they both usually sit together, and just watches One while she stares out at the city by herself.

”Hey, Seven. ” Cover appeared behind him.

He craned his neck back to see Coe wearing a new face. It was a sinister-looking silver face that resembled a dragons, with a jagged and snouted mouth line, pointed chin, and a forehead that curled up like a set of horns.

”Coe… ” Seven acknowledged.

He leaned forward placing his arms on the backboard of the sofa and groaned, ”She is still there, huh? ”

”She knows she is supposed to be resting… ” Seven groaned softly. ”I don know why… ”

”Perhaps she is concerned about Emilia, and the others, not being home. ”

”But, there was something that happened earlier. ” Seven shared a glance with Coe and lowered his head, ”We were just talking, then… Everything went dark. Like, I couldn see or move. I tried getting an answer but… ”

”Really? ” Coe sounded interested. He vaulted over the couch, and plopped down in the seat. ”Everyone else had the same thing happen. ”

”Think it was an echo? ”

”If it was, wed have had strange hallucinations. ” Coe pointed out. ”However, it was as if our bodies all just froze. Circuits and all. ”

Seven frowned and furrowed his brow.

”What could she be possibly thinking right now? ” Seven looked at the small, frail figure standing at the windows. He could see her face in the reflection.

Something feels wrong.

On the Moon…

In this dark room, dozens of voices clamored above the array of computer screens and analysts. Down the central aisle, striding between them, was the Emperor Quinn. He adjusted the collar of his suit then put his hands behind his back while he approached giant monitor, stretching from corner to corner, at the end of the room.

The massive plasma displayed dozens of Birds-Eye views of insurgent activity rising across the planet. Hundreds of slaves in one area were all retaliating to no avail and gunned down by machine-gun tanks. In another at an arena, slaves that managed to hack their sparks ended up in bloody stand off and barricaded themselves in with hostages.

”These were all areas where echoes were the worst at. ” An attendant ran up to his side. A clipboard in hand, the kid adjusted his glasses and read, ”Analysts believe that the Architect has targeted these areas specifically because of their military functions. After all, Kaon and Sector 13 are where the Seekers and Vehicons are being mass-produced. It would be safe to assume that the Architect would be in those cities. ”

”The Architect ought to be somewhere in the Polyhex region… ” The Emperor mumbled, ”I firmly believe they are all diversions. ”

”Can we be sure, sir? ” The boy asked.

”I worked with that woman closely for two thousand years. ” The Emperor told him. ”In retrospect, I now believe everything she has done up to now was a diversion. ”

All lights in the room suddenly shut off.

Voices clamored and while the Emperor studied the detail in the room for anything important. As expected, the monitor bots were working to get the lights back on.

It isn often outages like these happen. But since the echoes started, anything is possible. The lights turned back on the computer screens throughout the room but they only displayed a green screen with big red letters ”Locked ”.

The giant plasma turned on and revealed a woman in a thin lab coat, with long wild-red hair, standing in the center of an empty white room.

”Prima… ” The Emperor breathed, mouth and eyes gaped open in shock.

”Looking for me? ” Primas voice echoed in the hall as she swayed while tilting her head inquisitively. Her eyes bulged on her expressionless face.

”You caused enough trouble. ” The Emperor told her and offered, ”If you come back to me and submit yourself, I promise you that I can just forget all of this and we can move on with our sons. ”

”I have your answer. ” Primas monotonous tone changed to a low and serious one, ”Oh… I have your answer. However, I will only give it to you and you alone. ”

”Then, please, ” The Emperor held his arms open as if to welcome her, ”Come back home… ”

”No. ” Prima pointed at him then to her, her voice shook, ”You… will come to me… Alone… ”

”That isn happening. ”

”What? Afraid of little old me? ” Architect Prima mocked. ”Don worry, Emperor, I have no intention of harming you. After all, if you don come to me… ”

A mini-window popped up by her head and showed the Emperor a live-feed from Xaviers Cell Room. Red strobe lights on the walls were flashing while dozens of turrets dripped from the ceiling and pointed their laser sights at the kid inside the glass cell.

”I wouldn call my bluff. ” The Architect warned him. ”Come to me alone and I promise I won hurt him. I promise I am unarmed. All I want to do is talk. ”

”Talk? ” The Emperor asked, deeply skeptical.

”I will be dead soon. ” The Architect told him. ”My final wish is that I speak to you before I die. ”

With a clipboard covering his face, the boy at the emperors side whispered, ”We pinpointed the location of the Architect. She is here on the Destroyer. ”

The Emperor looked down at the boy expressing his shock.

”We confirmed that her weapons have been disabled. However since this is the architect we are dealing with… ”

”Where is she? ”

”The Harvesters Control room. ”

”Don keep me waiting. ” The Architect told him and then the room went dark again.

All the Emperor could think was nothing but a single word to describe Prima.

Bitch…

Meanwhile…

Two mechs loitered about atop a building in Crystal City.

One was a Firefox-type mecha called a Tokki, sharing physical attributes to a Hare. The other was a Tempest, its awkward figure swayed in the cold wind. The Tempest Pilot was patiently waiting with its arms folded while the Tokki was hopping around the edges, looking down from the skyscraper.

The Tempest, concerned, looked over to the Tokki and said, ”Floomis, get away from there. Youll fall. ”

”Then Ill fly right back up, Pixi. ” The pilot named Floomis told her, ”You need to relax. ”

”We have to be alert. ” Pixi told him. ”Ever since the Echoes started happening, rebellions started occurring all over the planet. ”

”But without access to military vehicles and weapons, the slaves are powerless against the Empire. ” Floomis reasoned. ”If there was a rebellion underneath us right now, auto-turrets and steward drones would neutralize them in an instant. I don see why we are needed here at all. ”

”Fool, do you not believe in the Lieutenant? ” Pixi snapped. ”To serve the great White Angel is an honor. We should be so lucky that she chose us to support her in hunting down the source of the Echoes. ”

”I am faithful to the mistress too, Pixi. ” Floomis argued, ”If it wasn for her enlisting me when she did, I would have died in the gladiatorial pits against the Dinobots. Even from Xavier most of all. ”

”Then what are you complaining for? ” Pixi asked.

”I am just simply doubting the severity of the situation. ”

”It doesn matter what we think. ” A womans voice sounded in the chilly air. The kids looked up in the sky and stood attention to see a white fighter jet circling the skies above them. The faint sound of burning thrusters grew louder as she drew near. The jet dived nose first toward them and bent in half, while the wings retracted behind the cockpit. A head emerged from the body of the jet as a pair of arms and legs revealed themselves from the thrusters. The wings behind her created a set of mini thrusters to slow her descent to them.

To Pixi, she was like a goddess descending from heaven. The white mech had a black head resembling a jackal, and though its face was grim, the rest of her body was beautifully curved. The White Angel gracefully landed her high-heeled mech onto the roof.

She commanded the Nano by her wrist to move to her palm and then grasped it. As if appearing from nothing, the nano shot out from two directions forming a staff. The Angel spin the blade and planted it into the ground.

”We are slaves. ” The White Angel began her speech, ”We are born of sin and shall die as sins. That is the ultimate decree of our rulers. We shall either live on their terms or die and fade into nothingness. What we think about any of it is irrelevant. They give us an order, and no matter how unreasonable it may be, we shall obey. ”

”Understood, Lieutenant! ” Pixi, along with Flumis, both straightened up and slammed their fists over their hearts.

”Our Primary Mission to find the Architect has been dissolved. ” The White Angel pointed her staff down toward the other tall buildings below. ”We have new orders. Analysts have finally started cracking the echoes code and discovered that a group of auto mechs may rebel. We have to find the bots, and eliminate them. ”

”What- wait… ” Floomis sounded confused. ”They are called automatic robots for a reason. The Artificial Intelligence in the bots don have sentience therefore cannot be capable of rebelling. ”

”Yet these are our orders… ” Pixi frowned and mentioned, ”If dispatch are suddenly worried about an artificial intelligence uprising… ”

”Then the empires greatest fears of Artificial Intelligence are about to come true. ” The Angel stepped onto the wall and nodded to them, ”Lets go save our Empire. ”

”Yes, maam! ”

The Emperor walked into the room and found the Architect alone by the windows. His escort waited outside as ordered and closed the door behind him. Prima looked away and stared outside with her hands in her pockets. The Emperor knew where they were, they were looking at the base Primas final invention. A massive barrel pointed upward into the darkness, concealed within this colossal chamber until Harvest Day.

”I acknowledge your struggles and your work, ” The Emperor told her. ”You spent these thousands of years building our planet and moon from the ground up. The future of humanity wouldn have been possible without you. ”

When she didn speak, he continued, ”I want to also admit that I had been terrible to you at times but it was only due to overwhelming concern and fear for the uncertainty of the future. ” He looked in awe upon the Harvester and said, ”I want to offer you so much to you. My home, My empire, and… my love… ”

”Do you understand? ” He looked down to her at his side and asked, ”What is your response? ”

When she scoffed, he grew disheartened.

”How the hell do you expect me to respond? ” The Architect strutted away from him and flailed her hands around in attitude and mocked him, ”I had my people **** your children so we can build a new world! I enslaved your people to destroy your home, your culture, your way of life in order to create a perfect society! I sexually and physically abused you because I cared about our future and loved you! Bullshit! Bullshit! BULLSHIT! ”

The Architect spun around, stomping her feet, and pointed at the Harvester, ”This isn salvation or is it the future! It is a symbol of everything wrong with your legacy! ”

”Enough! ” The Emperor spat and slammed his fist against the glass. His voice was deep and guttural, as if suppressing a ferocious roar. ”Do you have any idea the gravity of what your ancestors put mine through? We were left with scraps! We did what we had to survive! ”

”By sacrificing billions of lives! ” The Architect shot back.

”What other option was there? ” The Emperor flapped his arms back. ”World War Three proved to the entire world that we were running out of resources and space! We had to take what we could and start over! ”

”This is starting over? ” The Architect interrogated. ”You are starting the cycle all over again! History of Holocausts, Slavery, Genocide, and Discrimination will continue! When you fire that Harvester, you and your empire will scour the universe and consume planet after planet, star after star! ”

”Humanity needs an enemy. ” The Emperor calmly explained. ”When it comes to survival, only the strongest survive. It is a cheesy line but it is the truth. What are we supposed to do? Let people walk over us? Let them take what is rightfully ours? ”

The Architect said in a low tone, looking up at him from her eyes, half-hidden from her hair, ”Yes… ”

She stepped toward him, jabbing her finger, ”You had an option… Work together. Coexist. What did you choose? ”

”If we shared this world, we would have risked war. ” The Emperor explained to her. ”Uniformity, loyalty, complete and utter submission to my will, this is the only path to a world free of war. Once we fire the Harvester, it will be over! Our struggles will be done. Then our only enemy will be death itself and even then the All-Spark will have been powered and we achieve immortality for all time! I am not destroying this world, I am saving it! ”

The Architect grinned and panted. Her panting turned into a wheeze and she jerked her head back to let out a terrifying, and maniacal laugh.

For the first time in thousands of years, he finally witnessed Prima express an emotion. She bore a wide-eyed face with a dark, blood-curdling smile. ”Well, I am going to destroy it… ”

The Emperors heart dropped. Bewildered, he gasped, ”But why? How! ” His fear gave way to anger and bent his arm backward to reveal a gun barrel. It powered up, a blue glowing light shone on the Architects body. Trying to intimidate her, he demanded, ”What did you do? ”

Prima sputtered and let out a hearty giggle, ”What haven I done? That is the real question! Oh, Quinn… I have been waiting thousands of years just for this day! ”

”What… ” The Emperor hissed, drawing closer to her, the barrel of his arm blaster whirred and vibrated.

”I went along with everything you said so you wouldn kill my children, my relatives, or their descendants. ” The Architect explained, unfazed by the gun pointed to her face. ”Most of all, even though you allowed her to be by my side, I couldn let you hurt my precious Oracle. How was I supposed to fight back for my freedom or others if I rebelled? I couldn so I did what you said. To the letter. So what did I do? Your own scientists always doublechecked my own programming and blueprints to ensure that I wasn planning anything nefarious. And you never let me out of your sight, so how could I have done anything? ”

She continued, ”Well, according to all reports, I couldn have. That is because it was all by design. For too long I have plotted every possible scenario for this particular day, all the pieces are in place and the bait is set. ”

”The Echoes? ”

Primas eyes lit up and looked at her wrist for a watch that wasn there and chirped, ”Oh, that is right! It is almost time! ”

”For what? ”

”For everything that you sacrificed for the sake of the Primedaul to disappear before your very eyes! ”

”Emperor Quinn! ” A voice called from outside. A guard burst in with his gun trained at Prima and warned, ”We received a call! The Echoes burnt out the Ether. ”

The other one also ran in and pointed his weapon at her, ”All the information we had archived, everything from basic Ether-Net Forums and Mails all the way to Project Ark has disappeared! ”

”What did you do? ” The Emperor shrieking, shoved his gun barrel into Primas face.

”I transferred all the data to a supercomputer hidden deep within the Primedaul. I call it Vector Sigma. ”

”How did you do it! How did you build it when we were watching you and everything the Oracle did without fail! ”

”I invented a set of my own programming and blueprints hidden in the plans of everything we worked together. ” The Architect explained calmly, smiling, ”Everyone saw the designs for Crystal City? I saw my layout for the construction plan for Vector Sigma. You saw the blueprints for the Harvester? I saw the plans to hack into repair drones that would build Vector Sigma. The formulas for calculating the energy and power required to destroy the sun? I created a code for the Echoes that would syphon the Ether. I planned everything. Killing me won stop what happens next. After all, my successor will receive the Alpha Trion Protocols and carry on my legacy. ”

”Prima! ” The Emperor screamed. She didn even flinch when he slammed her against the wall, pressing the barrel roughly into her face, scraping the paint off of her face-plate.

”I calculated everything possible and managed to become the Architect of my own freedom and the destroyer of yours in one fell swoop. ” The Architect, ignoring the gun in her face, sounded pleased, ”All it took was feigning two-thousand years of heartlessness and loyalty and an endless amount of lies. ”

”How could you, after everything I have done for you? ”

Prima twitched and pushed her forehead against the barrel in defiance. ”No! This is for what you have done to me! ”

She clutched his arm, and stood up, keeping the guns trained on her, ”My Hive! My precious home! You came and shot us out of the icy shores of Argentina! You forced us out of the Hive at gunpoint! You shot and killed my husband in front of me and my kids just to make a point! You forced pregnancy in me and so many others just to build your workforce! You killed and slaughtered, without a second thought, anyone who got sick and gave birth! And you never once apologized! I was never going to fall in love with you, you maniac! ”

They both panted heavily and the Emperor swallowed and exhaled, pleading, ”Okay, okay, I get it. Im sorry. I will apologize as many times as it takes. Lets just… forget this all happened, and stop the Echoes. ”

There was silence for a moment and then she chuckled, ”You still don get it do you? ”

”Prima. ” The Emperor bared his teeth.

”The worst thing, to me, is that you made me live a life of immortality! ” Prima clutched his arm and screamed, ”How can I live with the weight of a thousand innocent screams of all the people I cut open to perfect your cyborg technology? How! How can I possibly move on from the death of my husband! You don know what true love is! Id rather die than live an eternity without my Mwamba! Id rather you kill me! ”

”No! ” The Emperor defied.

”Kill me! ” The Architect shrieked. ”Kill me! ”

When he didn do anything, everything went black. He couldn move. When his vision came back, his guards were on the floor and their weapons were in her hand. She aimed them at his heart and grinned.

Wheezing, Prima laughed, ”Im not gonna kill you. My plan is for you to watch as everything around you falls apart… ”

”You won shoot me then… ” The Emperor called her bluff.

Smiling, Prima shot his foot. The room reverberated with the plasmas pulse. Exclaiming angrily, he knocked her back and primed his weapon.

Visibly weak, Prima lifted her arm to fire again. In spite of this all, she laughed.

The Emperor roared in anguish and anger shooting her in the head, spark, and shoulder. Pieces of nano shot upward after each impact. Her body slumped back and her head hung low, black fluid and blood dripped from the wound in her head and trickled over her coat. Smoke wafted from the plasma holes, while she left behind a smile on her face.

Panting heavily, and angrily, the Emperor tried to catch a breath. He activated his Iris and called his attendant, ”Ichigo. ”

”Yes, sir. ”

He stood up and retracting his cannon into his arm. His suit all ripped and blackened from the weapons use. He exhaled, ”Issue this order. Find Vector Sigma. Track down the inheritor of the Alpha Trion Protocol. Secure Xavier… and… ”

He looked up at the harvester and straightened his tie, ”Start gathering the crew. We will fire the Harvester in 24 hours. The 25-day wait for Harvest Day is canceled… ”

Because Harvest Day now starts tomorrow.