War of Atlas

by Lucny Dauphin

  Stacey observed the main monitor of Luke’s team endlessly shooting down the endless amounts of hooded solar bots desperately trying to go after them.

  …Hmm…Mizo is the source of summoning them. Simple enough, they have to shoot her down to stop it for good… thought Stacey. …I must say, our enemy has some very intriguing creations I want to dig my teeth deep into…

  [Atlas City]

  “Ah, Luke we have to do something, she’s sending them out like crazy!” shouts August.

  “Yeah, there’s no end to them!” shouts Linda.

  “Luke, do something, quick!” shouts Kim.

  “On it…!” says Luke, eyes locked against Mizo’s.

  Luke stops firing and charges towards Mizo, and in seconds, Luke points the rifle dead in Mizo’s face, who floats there, not moving an inch, as the rest of the hooded solar bots go flying past the both of them. For both, it was as if time was moving slowly around them.

  …It feels weird to be around her…but…I must end this…! thought Luke.

  Luke presses the trigger, and suddenly, a blood curling scream deafens his ears. Luke’s eyes widen and turns around, shocked to find Caleb, struck down by one of the hooded solar bots.

  “No…! Caleb!!” shouts a shocked Luke.

  Luke turns back to face Mizo; however, Mizo’s open right is right in front of Luke. Luke’s body is frozen, as Mizo charges, and fires off a yellow energy blast in Luke’s face, sending him crashing all the way down to the ground.

  August grabs hold of Caleb’s falling body, and lands him on top of a building, with Linda and Kim having to fly around and blast all the hooded solar bots around them to stay afloat.

  “Shit…! Caleb, wake up man!” shouts August, shaking Caleb’s lifeless body as he began to tear up.

  “I knew this would happen. I’m sending assistance your way”-

  “Stacey, don’t you dare go through with it!” shouts Kim, interrupting Stacey.

  “What the fuck are you talking about?! It’s four against infinity now!” shouts Stacey.

  Kim flies back and lands on top of a building. Next, she quickly whips out her sniper rifle and aims perfectly at Mizo’s direction.

  “I’ve got you now, slut…!” whispers Kim with a smirk.

  Before Kim could press the trigger, Mizo’s head darts at Kim’s direction, which shocks Kim to no end, sending chills down her spine. Next, Mizo moves her finger to where Kim stood, as the hooded solar bots now turn direction to Kim.

  “Shit! Kim be careful!” shouts Linda, shooting down many hooded solar bots going after Kim.

  “Dammit! I had that bitch in the bag…!” says Kim, quickly putting her sniper away pulling back out her beam rifle, quickly firing off beam waves now at the enemies, taking most out in big numbers.

  “Linda, go defend August and Caleb! I got this!” shouts Kim.

  “…R-Roger!” shouts Linda, flying down over to August and Caleb.

  As Linda lands, she runs over and soon falls to her knees as she gazes at Caleb’s lifeless body held in August’s shoulders. Linda also begins to tear up at the sight of their fallen comrade, as her body begins to shake.

  “…Caleb…why…we got so far…!” says a tearful and shaken Linda.

  “…Linda…we have to relax right now…Kim can’t do this by herself!” says August.

  “I know…but…!” replies Linda.

  As Kim flew around shooting many solar bots down, Luke blasts up from beneath and comes to her aid, firing off many rounds of plasma bullets at the solar bots, taking them down in groups in seconds. Kim and Luke were doing an impressive job by shooting down the endless army of solar bots, while Mizo had her eyes glued to Linda, August, and Caleb from afar.

  “…It’s time to kick things up a notch…” says Mizo.

  Mizo’s eyes flash bright red, as suddenly, Caleb’s body begins to float up. August and Linda all run backward in shock as to what is happening before their fallen comrade.

  “What’s going on?” says as shocked Caleb.

  “Caleb? Caleb?!” shouts a shocked Linda.

  Next, Caleb’s body is engulfed in a red light, and before the two knew it, a bright flash blinds their eyes…and as the light dims, August and Linda were shocked to their core, to find Caleb’s body transformed into their very own enemy: A hooded Solar bot, wielding two jagged edged swords. August and Linda were frozen in fear, gazing at their friend floating above them, looking down at them with piercing bright red eyes. Luke and Kim stop to notice what has just happened from afar.

  “Holy shit…is that…?” says a shocked Kim.

  “Dammit…that girl must’ve done this…!” says an angry Luke.

  “…We have no choice then. He has to go too,” replies Kim.

  “No. There’s a way to bring him back,” says Luke.

  “Huh, boy I hope you’re right…!” replies Kim.

  “Linda…I’ll stop Caleb. You help Kim and Luke,” Says an angry August, pulling out his beam sword. Linda had no words to say, but to shake her head in anger, as she turns around and finds Mizo from afar staring at her.

  “…You’re dead, you fucking bitch!” shouts Linda, charging after Mizo and pointing her rifle at Mizo. Mizo sways her right arm at Linda’s direction, as more summoned solar bots fly out of the energy ball and charge after Linda. Linda yells in anger as she fires off frantically at the solar bots, shooting them down with ease.

  “Caleb…listen to me! It’s me, August! Snap out of it!” shouts August, charging at Caleb.

  August swings his beam sword, but Caleb clashed his blades with August, and from there, the two began wildly clashing their blades at each other, soon making one last clash before putting their faces close to each other.

  “Caleb! Listen!” shouts August, kicking Caleb back. Caleb stops himself from being pushed back any further and begins twirling his blades, before charging after him.

  “Damn it…! Damn it all!” shouts August, charging back at the possessed comrade.

  As Mizo watches, Linda and Kim shoot down many of her minions, and August going toe to toe against Caleb, she turns around to find Luke facing off against her once again. The two have a stare off, before Luke presses a button on his left collar, making the armor helmet shatter away like glass, revealing his face before Mizo, who expressed surprised upon gazing at his smirking face.

  “…You know…for an Android; you’re a good-looking one,” says Luke.

  Mizo blushed at Luke’s response, which surprises him.

  “…You liked my little comment I made there. Tell me, why are you doing this?” asks Luke.

  “…Because…our master told us to do so,” replies Mizo.

  “Master?” questions Luke.

  “We, the Invasorz, are guardians of this land to keep it safe. You, humans decided to infiltrate it, so we are simply doing our job to protect our homeland,” Explains Mizo, which made Luke angry, balling up his fists.

  “…Yeah…but it was OUR homeland you infiltrated in the first place! You ruined many lives!” shouts Luke, “I…I shouldn’t even be here in this fucking battle armor right now…but it’s because of you…your army…from wherever the fuck you came from…that I’m here, FIGHTING to get MY land back that YOU stole! I’m here now, and I’m going to stop this, starting with you, next…!”

  “…I won’t allow that to happen,” replies Mizo.

  “…Heh…to tell you the truth…I don’t really…want it to end it this way…” says Luke, shaking his head while revealing a smirk, which seemed to confuse Mizo.

  “…Why are you smiling all of a sudden…?” asks Mizo.

  “…I always wanted to tell you, aliens…that humans are harmless, and cause no harm,”-

  “How can you stand there and say such a thing, when you soldiers took down 3 of my friends so far?!” shouts an angry Mizo, interrupting Luke.

  “Incredible…it’s almost like she isn’t a robot…showing emotions and everything…I’ve got to keep going…!” thought L
uke, gazing at Mizo with a serious look on his face.

  “Their souls…Kizo…Jinzo…Ginzo…I can’t feel them anymore…” says Mizo, resting her hand on her chest.

  “…They had it coming…it’s the price they’ve paid for costing lives on my homeland…however it can change with you…” replies Luke.

  “…What?” says a curious Mizo.

  “I don’t want the same fate as your comrades, to come towards you as well. I can show you the good side of things…not just the bad,” Replies Luke, “…What is your name…if I can know the true answer to that…”

  “…Mizo…” replies Mizo.

  “…Mizo…do you like what you’re doing right now? Your purpose to live, to just guard this lone, dark land…?” asks Luke.

  Mizo had no response, as she continued looking around, finding Luke’s comrades fighting off against her minions…

  “Mizo…look at me…!” ordered Luke. Mizo shoots her eyes back at Luke, who appeared angry at her now.

  “…Before you came…there was peace on this land…the skies were as beautiful as ever…something you’ve probably never seen before. Is this your purpose?” asks Luke.

  “…Not…really…” replies a sudden saddened Mizo, looking away, which shocked Luke.

  “Tch! What in the fuck is Luke doing talking to that robot scum?!” says an angry Kim, continuing to shoot down the solar bots from afar.

  “…Mizo, I beg of you…to stop attacking us…and turn Caleb back to normal…for a deal…” says Luke.

  “…A deal…?” says a confused Mizo.

  “…If you stop…I’ll take you in myself…and show you the good side of life and not the depressing life you go through since you’ve been born,” replies Luke.

  “…What are you saying…?” asks Mizo, “…Why…why is it me you want to persuade…?”

  “For starters…, I’m sure you’re bored of this shit already…secondly…I have a soft spot for beautiful women such as yourself. I promise you…I’ll change your life, for the better of things…if you come with me…so please…stop this…it’s not making anything better for the both of us…” says Luke.

  Mizo’s eyes widened, as she gazed upon Luke with a mysterious gold glow around his body. The smile on his face only enforced the beautiful presence Mizo witnessed before her. Mizo slowly nods while staring at Luke, and in moments, before Caleb could strike August, Caleb’s body Is transformed back to normal, as he falls onto August, beginning to cough.

  “C-Caleb?! Caleb!” shouts a shocked August, “Y-you’re alive!”

  “Ack! Dammit…! It was as if I was in a dark dream for ages…! What the fuck happened?!” says Caleb, pulling away from August as he quickly removed his helmet to spit blood out of his mouth. August reveals a smile as he swoops in and wraps his arms around Caleb.

  “H-Hey! August, what are you doing?!” shouts a confused Caleb.

  “You-you’re alive man! I thought you were gone for good!” shouts a tearful, yet joyful August.

  “Oh…man…what just happened?” says Caleb, shaking his head in confusion.

  Luke saw all of this, and turned his attention back to Mizo, smiling at her.

  “…Mizo…thank you…” says Luke.

  Mizo soon smiles in return, which surprises Luke once more.

  …She can change…these beings we fight…they can reverse their ways…it’s possible they can change to the good side… thought Luke.

  Suddenly, a rocketing shot is heard, and Luke is jaw-dropped and bug-eyed to find a bullet, going through Mizo’s head, so suddenly. Mizo falls from the sky, with the energy ball behind her vanishing, and the rest of the solar bots vanishing into black mist. Luke yells for her name as he swoops down and grabs hold of her just in time before they both land on the ground. Luke lays Mizo to the ground, as Kim swoops down to the ground behind the two, with a furious look on her face, disgusted at the sight of what Luke was doing. She soon puts on a smile and walks over to Luke, putting her hand on his shoulder.

  “…Good job sweet-talking the robot Luke,” says Kim.

  “…Kim…” whispers Luke, resting Mizo’s head softly on the ground before getting up.

  “…What is it captain?” says a curious Kim.

  “…I was only trying to take her home…” replies a saddened Luke, locking eyes with a surprised Kim by his response.

  “…T-take her home? Luke, you’re talking crazy right now! What the fuck do you mean take her home?” says an angry Kim.

  “…I don’t know…” replies Luke, shaking his head, “…I couldn’t shoot her down for some reason…”-

  “Luke, that piece of robotic trash is the reason our soldiers are dead now! She’s aligned with the same people who caused us to move underground and take over OUR land!” shouts Kim.

  “…Yeah, I know that…but…maybe…we could’ve used her for good…” says Luke.

  “…What are you talking about?” says a confused, yet angry Kim.

  “She could’ve been very useful for us in this war…” replies Luke.

  “Is, that, right?” questions Kim, putting her hands on her hips.

  “…Yes…” replies Luke.

  Suddenly, Kim’s eyes pop wide open and takes a few steps back. Luke is confused as to why Kim is acting this way, but as he turns around, he too is shocked, to find Mizo standing before him, alive and well, but very angry, with her eyes darted at Kim. Mizo quickly points her open right hand forward at Kim and charges a yellow energy ball in that hand.

  “You! You’ll pay for nearly killing me after what I’ve just done!” shouts an angry Mizo.

  “Mizo, stop!” shouts Luke, grabbing Mizo’s right arm and lowering it. Mizo looks at Luke, shocked at what he’s just done, quickly diminishing the energy ball in her hand.

  “…Listen, follow me. I’ll keep you safe,” says Luke.

  Kim looks on furious once more, from what was coming out of Luke’s mouth.

  “Luke, are fucking serious right now?!”-

  “Kim, it’ll all work out in the end! Trust me!” shouts Luke, interrupting Kim, giving her an angry glare, which shocked Kim. Luke walks over to Kim and gets closer to her ear.

  “…Listen, I know women more than you can ever dream. This girl is falling for me quick. I have to take this into my hands now. Just cooperate, and everything else will fall through. Trust me…” whispered Luke. Kim soon shook her head and smirked, staring at Mizo from afar.

  “…Alright, captain…whatever you say…but one false move, and she’s done, just like the rest of her friends,” replies Kim, putting her finger gently on Luke’s chest and pushing him back.

  “C’mon Kim, just relax, alright?” asks Luke with a shy smile.

  “Yeah, I hear ya’,” says Kim, smiling back.

  “…Thank you,” says Luke.

  [Dynasty of Spheres H.Q./ Monitor Room]

  “Whoa…he just successfully negotiated with an enemy before our very own eyes…!” says a shocked male operator.

  …Luke, you’re an impressive pretty-boy I’ll tell you that… thought Stacey, looking on in shock, finding Luke join Mizo and Kim as they fly back up to the sky, together, “…You do have game with the ladies…even with robots.”

  [Tower City]

  Victoria…and Daichi, are both still alive, on top of one of the skyscraper towers, with many around them already torn up badly.

  “…I can’t believe I can’t join in on the damn fun…” says an angry Victoria, crossing her arms.

  Daichi crossed his arms with his eyes closed as if he was meditating. Victoria looked at the silent Daichi, soon rolling her eyes and shaking her head as she walked away, gazing at the distance to what appears to be a bright red and blue light clashing at each other from afar.

  That red light was Saul, while the blue light was Drizo. Saul’s body was engulfed in a red flame, with Drizo having a blue aura formed around him. Both have now just clashed fists, which caused them to push each other back, soon stopping. Both appear to
be bruised up, and out of breath. The both of them were in a massive crater, with the destruction of the city all around this crater.

  “…Heh, you’re one tough son of a bitch…but I’ve had enough of this…!” says Saul, “…It’s time I end this…with “Overheat” …!

  Drizo looked on in silence, as he witnessed Saul’s eyes roll to the back of his head, and the flaming aura around his body grow bigger, with larger rocks floating around him now.

  “…I’m going to destroy you…! Android scum…!” growls Saul.

  Chapter End

  Chapter 40

  Overheat

  With both Drizo and Saul battered and bruised from what appeared to be a destructive battle, Saul has now raised the bar, entering what he names: Overheat. Saul’s body engulfs in a red flame, as his eyes roll to the back of his head, revealing the angriest, and demonic look Drizo could ever witness. However, it did not faze him at all.

  Saul begins walking towards Drizo, leaving fire footprints behind, which surprised Drizo. However, Drizo quickly got into action, pointing his drill at Saul from afar and firing off a large blue energy drill at Saul like a home-seeking missile.

  “…I’m getting sick of this move already!” shouts Saul.

  Saul balls up his right hand and smashes his fist into the ground. Seconds before the destructive energy-drill could crash onto Saul, Saul pulls his fist out, and ends up pulling out a giant rock wall before him, easily blocking Drizo’s attack at the right second. However, as soon as the energy drill collided with the rock wall, the wall shatters whole, but that didn’t stop Saul from blasting through the falling debris and charging after Drizo with incredible speed.

  Drizo charges back, and as the two got close, they both pull back and end up colliding their fists, creating a destructive shockwave around them. Moments after the shock wave emits, the two begin throwing a flurry of punches and kicks at each other at incredible speed. It wasn’t a long back and forth before Saul hits Drizo with a strong right, sending Drizo’s body crashing to the ground. Next, Saul blasts up into the air and begins raining down large fireballs down at Drizo with his hands, creating fierier destruction as the crashed to the ground. Saul was on a rampage, firing like a madman. However, Drizo blasts out of the inferno rainfall and proceeds to thrust his drill arm towards Saul. With seconds to spare, Saul ends up successfully kicking Drizo’s drill arm out of the way, and swiftly sending another powerful kick to Drizo’s head, making Drizo crash back down to the ground once again.