The Illusion of an End

Prologue:
In a world irrevocably altered by the cataclysmic crash of six mysterious asteroids, humanity finds itself at a pivotal crossroads. These extraterrestrial remnants, each harboring unique and potent resources, have become the cornerstone of revolutionary advancements across military, civil, and scientific fields.
As nations race to harness the unparalleled energy and materials embedded within these cosmic boulders, the balance of power shifts dramatically. Military forces develop formidable new weapons and defense systems, pushing the boundaries of human capability.

February 4, 2125      23:25

The nights in Treza City are no different from its days. During the day, at least you can avoid looking at the sun, but at night, wherever you look, there's a neon light that hurts your eyes. 

Ziiii! Ziiii! Ziiii! (Sound of a CAP motorcycle engine)

The deafening noise of CAP’s tri-core motorcycles can be heard. Three black-clad bikers are speeding through the traffic.

"Are we there yet?" one of them asks through a radio. 

"It's inside the tunnel, but we need to stop outside." the leading rider replies. 

They lean forward, and the motorcycles speed up. The sound of the motorcycles increases. From a distance, you can see the tunnel's entrance, blocked with police caution tapes and guarded by two armed officers in khaki uniforms. As the motorcycles approach the tunnel, they slow down and come to a complete stop at the entrance. All three bikers dismount and remove their helmets, revealing two young boys and an adult man. The officers salute them.

"Well, where is it?" Kai asks.

[Kai Grents, 16 years old. Apprentice of the Naxin Squad. Height: 1.73 m. Appearance: Brown hair and eyes. Key Traits: Impatient and talkative.]

"We need to go to the other side of the tunnel. Put on your anarcs," Fox says.

[Fox Morgan, 52 years old. Commander of the Naxin Squad. Height: 1.80 m. Appearance: Muscular, scarred face, red hair and eyes. Key Traits: Experienced, friendly, down-to-earth. Always has a toothpick in the corner of his mouth.]

"Yes, sir," Kai and Rowan say simultaneously.

[Rowan Bold, 16 years old. Apprentice of the Naxin Squad. Height: 1.70 m. Appearance: White hair and purple eyes. Key Traits: Intelligent, quiet, rarely smiles. Has a calm and steady voice.]

The three take a hollow circular object from their jacket pockets and stick it to their chests. The object glows blue and activates, covering their entire bodies in nanotechnology protective armor, forming their battle suits. All black and made for combat. Fox, Kai, and Rowan head towards the tunnel as the officers disable the electric tapes. They enter the tunnel. As they proceed, the sound of fighting and gunfire intensifies. Rowan reaches for his anarc, and a black nano sniper rifle forms. He looks through the sniper scope towards the tunnel's end. "What do you see?" Fox asks.

"I hate closed spaces." Rowan replies.

They exit the tunnel and see a bustling Chinese town filled with eateries. They witness military police forces engaging in a firefight with a two-meter-tall black robot. The robot fires lasers from a red streak resembling eyes. Its arms and hands are equipped with photon blasters. The military police shoot at the robot."Fire! Fire! Fire!" the police commander shouts.

The bullets can't penetrate the robot's sturdy armor.

"Keep going!" the police commander yells. A soldier enters the scene and fires a laser bazooka. The laser reflects off the robot’s armor and hits the tunnel ceiling. The tunnel collapses, blocking the way back. Several explosions follow, and the cries of soldiers can be heard. Fox approaches the police commander.

"What's the situation?" Fox asks.

"Backup!" the police commander yells.

He notices Fox behind him with a delay. "Huh? TSC? Finally, you’re here?" the police commander says. 

[TSC: Techno Security Corps, protecting people from rogue AI and advanced tech threats.]

"Yeah, now tell me, what the hell is that thing?" Fox asks amidst the sounds of gunfire and explosions.

"Isn’t that your job?! How should I know?! We were just told to stall it until you arrived! I've already lost so many of my men, so it’s your show now!" the police commander says harshly to Fox, giving a short glance at Rowan and Kai. "All units, fall back! TSC is here!" the police commander orders his men with a shout. 

"It’s a prototype of the RA201 model that seems to have been hacked," Rowan says. 

"Yeah? By whom?" Fox asks. 

"I don’t know." Rowan responds. 

"Whatever, let’s turn it into scrap metal," Kai says with a proud grin, reaching his anarc, a blue photon sword forms from merging nanos. Fox also reaches for his anarc, and two large-barreled handguns materialize in his hands. Rowan activates his gun by pressing a button and aims.

With the battlefield clearing, the RA201 robot looks for a target but finds nothing. It turns its head and targets Fox, Kai, and Rowan's faces.

POW!

Fox fires, and the photon bullet ricochets off RA201's head, hitting the ground. The robot’s red streak becomes more intense, indicating its anger. It fires a red laser from its eye at Fox. Kai steps into the laser’s path and deflects it with his sword. Kai charges at the robot and attacks it with his sword. The robot grabs the sword, which disintegrates into nanos and shifts from Kai’s right hand to his left, reforming the sword and striking the robot's left side. It's useless; it doesn’t even scratch the robot. Kai is taken aback. The robot punches Kai hard, sending him flying several meters away.

KA-POWWW!

Rowan fires from a distance. The shot forces the robot to stagger back a few steps. The RA201, bent from Rowan’s shot, raises its head, readying all its weapons and spraying bullets everywhere. Fox, Rowan, and Kai each take cover to avoid the robot’s barrage. The sound of gunfire and explosions is incessant.

“Nothing works on it. Damn thing is like an evil version of RoboCop. What's your status?” Fox says, increasing his gun's intensity through his earpiece. 

"I'm in this antique shop full of creepy dolls," Kai replies.

“What's RoboCop?” Rowan asks.

“You haven’t seen RoboCop?!” Fox and Kai exclaim in surprise.

The loudness of their voices irritates Rowan's ears. “Whatever, I need a better angle.” Rowan says.

The sounds of gunfire, explosions, lasers, store destructions, and glass breaking are heard. Moments later, the robot stops firing, and silence ensues. The sound of the wind howls. Fox emerges from his cover and runs towards the robot, activating his energy gloves for a direct attack. He engages with the robot, left, right, but its body remains unscathed. Fox gets tired, panting heavily. RA201 brings both arms forward, aiming all its weapons at Fox, ready to fire.

Tick tick

The sound of a Maneki Neko comes from behind the robot. It turns around, only to see a Maneki Neko waving its arm. The robot pays no attention, turning back to find Fox gone, replaced by three grenades at its feet that explode simultaneously! The robot is violently thrown back. The dust from the explosion rises.

"If this doesn't take it down, we’ll have to resort to..." Kai begins, but Fox interrupts,"I don't think it’ll come to that. Look."Fox points to a helicopter approaching the scene.

The helicopter reaches above the robot and shines a light on it. The dust disperses. The robot rises and looks at the helicopter, readying its laser streak to fire. 

"He's here," Fox says to Rowan and Kai behind him. They know whom Fox means.

"Jax." Fox says. 

[Jax. Age unknown. Height: 2.43 m. Special forces commander. Appearance: Burly. Key Traits: Extremely powerful and arrogant.]

Jax, with a smug grin, looks at the robot from above the helicopter. He jumps down, shaking the ground and creating a large crater. Dust rises again. Jax's heavy footsteps are heard as he approaches the robot. He pulls out and swings his chain scythe. The robot locks all its weapons on him. Jax throws his chain, tying the robot's arms together and pulling it toward him with great force.The robot's head fits entirely in Jax's right hand, and you can feel the pressure applied. The robot is completely airborne, its feet not touching the ground. Jax crushes its head, and moments later, it shatters. The robot's body and shattered pieces fall to the ground. Six special forces members in specialized suits jump down from the helicopter and gently land using energy wave jet packs.Fox, Kai, and Rowan approach Jax from a distance. Jax notices them out of the corner of his eye and smirks.

"Hey, that was our target," Kai says.

"You sure?" Jax says mockingly and derisively.

The special forces place the robot’s remains into magnetic nets and take it away in the helicopter.“You can have its head.” Jax taunts, offering Fox the shattered robot head in his hand.

Kai frowns, visibly angry. The sound of an advanced CAP motorcycle can be heard from the tunnel’s end. Everyone’s attention turns that way. The noise gets closer, suddenly the debris blocking the tunnel shifts, creating an opening, and a rider passes through and enters. The rider stops a bit further, dismounts, removes the helmet, revealing a girl with black hair.

"where the hell were you, Anna?" Kai asks angrily.

"I went to visit my mom." Anna replies calmly.

[Anna Kirby, 18 years old. Apprentice of the Naxin Squad. Height: 1.60 m. Appearance: Black hair, red eyes. Key Traits: Independent and indifferent.]

"Sorry I’m late, boss." Anna says to Fox.

"It’s alright," Fox replies with a smile.

"What’s new?" Anna asks.

"A giant robot went rogue, and we were supposed to take it down, but some folks decided to meddle and didn’t let us," Kai says sarcastically, looking at Jax.

"Not a robot, it was a prototype RA201 model," Rowan corrects Kai.

"Did you pick these kids up from school?" Jax jibes at Fox.

"That’s irrelevant. What are the special forces doing here? I don’t think handling a malfunctioning RA201 is within your responsibilities," Fox says.

"Correct, this kid’s play isn’t part of our duties," Jax retorts right in Fox’s face.

Fox doesn’t like Jax's comment, tension rises, and the atmosphere becomes heavy. After some intense eye contact between Fox and Jax,

"Are you kidding? You haven’t seen RoboCop?!" Anna exclaims loudly and surprised.

"Why are you making such a big deal out of it?" Rowan replies.

"Tomorrow I'll pick you up to watch it. Alright?" Kai says to Rowan.

"No, tomorrow I’m going to experiment on that RA201’s head."A special forces helicopter approaches. Jax walks away, jumps off the ground, and boards the helicopter. The helicopter flies away. Rowan picks up the shattered robot head from the ground and takes it with him as they all return to the TSC headquarters.To be continued...
Chapter Two: Arkana