Chapter 2:

Arkana

February 4, 2125  23:20  Terze Central Hospital
*Beep... beep... beep.*
The first sound in a patient's room at Terze Central Hospital.
"You have a new voice message."
A person gets up from a chair. With every step they take, their footsteps draw closer. On the patient’s table lies a semi-wilted hyacinth flower in a vase. Beside the vase is an earpiece, which is picked up.
Anna places the earpiece in her ear.
"Play it," Anna says.
"....Hmm, hey, where are you? There's a new case in Chinatown. If you get my message, head over. See you." Fox’s voice plays.
Anna lets out a deep sigh and leaves the room.
*Beep... beep... beep...*
Chapter Two: Arkana
---
February 5, 2125  10:43  TSC Headquarters
The TSC headquarters is a thirteen-story building. Here, worker robots handle most tasks, yet humans still play a vital role in operations. Upon entering the building, a large reception desk can be seen, staffed by a female receptionist, a male receptionist, and a robotic receptionist. On the right and left sides of the desk are two high-speed elevators. At the entrance, two identical life-size statues of TSC's founder, Theo Netalo, are positioned. Above, three screens showcase TSC's history, achievements, and the sacrifices of its leader.
Fox enters the building, yawns, places a toothpick in the corner of his mouth, and walks toward the elevators on the left of the reception desk. "Hey Robin. Hey Wang. Hey B7," Fox says.
"Good morning, Fox!" the three receptionists greet him warmly with smiles.
Fox stops in front of the elevator, presses the button, and the door opens. He steps inside.
"Hey, Maki," Fox says.
"Good morning, Fox! Which floor are you heading to?" the cheerful voice of the female elevator AI responds.
"Thirteen, please," Fox replies.
The elevator doors close and immediately open again. Fox steps out.
On the thirteenth floor, there is only one straight path that leads to the management office. Fox walks to the office door and stops. A screen appears on the door:
[Identity Verification in Progress...  Fox Morgan  Commander of the Noxian Squad  ID: 0013.865790  Code: 1020  Identity Verified.]
The door opens, and Fox enters.
Inside the director's office, the entire city can be seen through the large window ahead. The room contains minimal furniture—just the director’s desk and two chairs in front of it.
The director is seated, reading information through his brightly lit glasses.
[Director of TSC’s Terze Branch: Jack Luther.  Age: 60.  Height: 1.88 m.  Appearance: Dark-skinned, black beard, bald, wearing a black suit.]
Fox approaches and stands between the two chairs. The director finishes reading, switches off his glasses, removes them, and looks at Fox.
"You wanted to see me, sir?" Fox asks.
"Yes, Fox... uh... in your report, you mentioned engaging with a hacked RA201. But this morning, I was informed that no damaged RA201 was transferred to the nest. Where is it?" Jack asks.
"Sir, as stated in the report, the Special Forces intervened and—" Fox begins, but—
"Fox, where is it?" Jack interrupts, emphasizing, his brows furrowed, glaring.
"Ah, apologies, sir. I shouldn’t have let them take it," Fox responds.
"Listen, Fox. That RA201 represents years of work by our scientists, and it was supposed to remain classified until completion. Now, someone hacked it, or possibly copied it—though I doubt the latter—and it’s in the hands of Special Forces. Let me just say this: sure, we all live together, but that doesn’t mean we’ll all die together. We each have our own lives. Take yourself, for instance—you have a wife, a kid. Think about them," Jack says.
"Are you threatening me, sir?" Fox asks.
The director swivels his chair to face the window. "No, I’m just saying maybe it’s time you considered retirement," Jack suggests.
"Yes, sir," Fox says, lowering his gaze and leaving the room.
Fox exits the TSC building, lost in thought.
"Hey, boss!" Kai's voice snaps him out of it.

Fox looks up to see Kai and Anna on their bikes, waiting for him. Kai waves cheerfully, while Anna leans on the front of her bike with a poker face, a lollipop in her mouth.

Fox glances at Anna. "Hey," Anna says.

Fox approaches them. "Where’s Rowan?" he asks.

"Seems like he’s not feeling well. We were planning to check on him. You coming?" Kai says.

"Yeah, let’s go," Fox replies.

The three of them arrived at Rowan's doorstep. *Knock, knock, knock*, Fox knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Rowan's hoarse and sickly voice came from inside.

"It's us. We brought you some soup," Kai said.

Rowan's cough echoed from inside the house. "Just leave it by the door and go. I'm really sick, and I don't want you catching it too," Rowan replied.

"Are you sure?" Fox asked.

"Yeah," Rowan said between coughs.

"Alright, I’ll leave it here," Kai said as he placed the soup container in front of the door. He turned to leave when suddenly...

"Dead or alive, you're coming with me."

This line was heard from within Rowan's house.

Kai's eyes widened. *Bam! Bam! Bam!* He pounded on the door fiercely. Fox and Anna, who had started walking away, turned around and looked at Kai in confusion.

"You're watching *RoboCop*, aren't you?!" Kai exclaimed with enthusiasm.

Kai kept banging relentlessly on the door, pleading with Rowan to let him in.

"Go away, it’s not *RoboCop*," Rowan replied in a monotone voice.

"Liar! That's RoboCop's famous line! Open up! Open up! Open up!" Kai shouted while still knocking.

"I’m calling the police!" Rowan threatened.

"Fine, I’m leaving!" Kai yelled as he sprinted away from the scene.

Fox chuckled at Kai's retreat, while Anna maintained her usual poker-faced expression.

*Beep!*

Fox's notification device buzzed.

"Let’s go. We’ve got a mission," Fox said, walking off.

Kai and Anna followed close behind.

---

Central Square
13:07

*Boom!* Central Square erupted in an explosion. Screams and cries filled the air as people fled in chaos. Six RA201 robots had attacked the city. The sound of gunfire, laser blasts, and further explosions filled the square. Military police drones swarmed from above, launching an aerial assault on the robots.

The Noxian squad arrived at the scene. Dismounting from their bikes, they armed their Anarks.

A mother and her six-year-old daughter tripped and fell while running away. Anna rushed to their aid, helping them to their feet.

"Thank you, ma’am," the mother said to Anna.

Anna picked up the little girl. "Are you okay?" she asked with her signature poker face.

"Miss, aren’t you running away?" the little girl asked.

Anna popped a stick of gum into her mouth. "No, don’t worry. We’re really strong," Anna replied.

The little girl stared at Anna, wide-eyed, before her mother pulled her along.

Meanwhile, the robots systematically destroyed the drones one by one. Fox threw three freezing bombs at the robots' feet. The bombs exploded, but they failed to freeze the machines.

All six robots opened fire on Fox and Kai, who dashed to opposite flanks to take cover.

"There are too many. We need backup," Kai said to Fox through his earpiece.

"No, I came prepared this time," Fox responded. He reached for his Anark, and an advanced bazooka materialized from nanite particles.

"I need you to distract them. Got it?" Fox instructed.

"Roger that," Kai replied.

The sounds of lasers and explosions echoed. Kamikaze drones launched themselves at the robots, sacrificing themselves in vain.

Kai quickly emerged from his cover, circling around the robots. Upon seeing Kai, the robots focused their fire on him. As they turned their backs to Fox, he seized the opportunity.

Fox placed the bazooka on his shoulder, aimed, and fired! The missile split into six separate projectiles, each targeting a robot. *Boom!* A massive cloud of dust rose from the explosion.

As the dust settled, the robots emerged unscathed, their weapons now fully armed. They scanned their surroundings, eventually spotting Anna standing alone in front of them.

The robots unleashed their full firepower on Anna.

"I summon you...

...Arkana!"

Suddenly, everything stopped. Birds froze mid-flight, drones halted in midair, and silence engulfed the area.

Anna vanished, replaced by a large, radiant white flame. Emerging from the flame was the figure of a girl, clad in white with long, flowing white hair. All of the robots' bullets and lasers passed through her harmlessly. The machines continued firing, but none of their attacks landed. She resembled a ghost.

Arkana opened her glowing white eyes...

Chapter Three: Eternal Dreams

Arkana

Author:

Arkana

Arkana

Readers Who Enjoyed This Also Read

Chromaris

Usurper: The Liberation Vow

A Crystalline Summer

Please log in to leave a comment.