Timer Is Set

'Not again...' The wind blew her torn clothing rapidly towards the horizon; her gaze was averted towards the figure on the left of her without a mere word to say, and they both stared at each other.

The figure spoke to her in a playful tone, "Seems it didn't work out!" The situation currently wasn't anything that should be playful about. This contrasting demeanour strikes a chord in her; her face lifts up, forming a gentle smile.

"Be at rest; this won't happen next time." Her voice was calm, comforting and smooth in the words she used; her pale expression was also just as cold.

The figure puts out its hand to her slim shoulder. "Is that a promise?"

She extended her pale hand out to the small figure, shaking it lightly, signifying they have a deal.

'This will be the last time. We will set out instantly ahead of schedule next time.' Her lens shifts their case towards the sky, trying to locate their impending doom; her eyes zoom into death's stare.

'There it is... The sole destroyer of all that is left. What other species other than humans could build such a contraption?'

Her thoughts settle down, and she turns her head into the sunset, waiting for her time to come to an end. The coarse, rocky terrain starts to rumble and shake violently upon the devastating event.

Their ears deafen; a white flash envelops them once more, and the figure closes its eyes to try to hide away with no avail. An embracing cold metallic touch follows the figure's eyes closing them shut tightly, causing a blackout.

'System, perform the rewind once again,' the robotic command echoes within the domain of her mind.

[Performing rewind -1%]

The system begins to work overtime to prevent its own destruction. A scorching hot heat starts to hit the robot and the figure. Screams are heard loudly upon the robotic nerve system.

"It burns!" the figure roared painfully.

[Rewind -28%]

The painful voice struck a deep scar inside of her. 'The system cut me off already.' Her thoughts were filled with anger, suffering and acceptance that there is nothing she can do at this point in time.

[Disconnected, Rewind -50%]

The disconnected metal body fell upon the small figure's body, shielding it from the immense heat from afar; the screams were eradicated from the girl's system, leaving her alone in a black mind space.

'There just isn't enough time to act on this plan; the Borlot defences aren't nearly fast enough to intercept that monster.' Her thinking expands further trying to figure out a possibility of anything that could work; she constructs a mahogany office desk and oak chair within her dream space to focus on the task at hand, lightening the dark room with furniture.

[Exposed wiring, Warning!]

"Ignore it; hurry the rewind process." The dismissive attitude from her indicates the severity of the situation is not critical. The husk topples, having their pale skin melted off slowly dripping over the figure which lay burnt to ashes.

[Rewind -89%, Initialising Rewind]

The remaining husked body starts to glow a bright white glow from within its advanced technological systems, and a stopwatch spins its handles in reverse trying to mimic the flow of time, trying in all its power not to melt down.

[Error! circuitry is at melting point]

'Huh, that's a first for sure anyway.' She stops writing down her ideas and focuses on the issue at hand, shifting to the side of the oak chair, her expression horridly unexpressive.

"System activate rewind"

[Error! Rewind at 97%, Malfunction may occur]

"What do you mean, malfunction?" She jolts up from the oak chair and rapidly constructs her own command console displaying various parametrics but most importantly the error which might cause her demise!

[Malfunction may cause time-wrapping, eternal isolation, destruction of mechanism and various other side effects.]

'Shut up; I get it! Activate already...' Her voice gets sharp and loud; this was the first out of the many times this has occurred.

[rewind activated]

The clock handle reaches its peak, letting the white glow overwhelm the whole metallic body, leaving the figure alone for eternity. Once again, the mindspace turns completely silent and dark; she stands upon the darkness of the mindspace without a single thought or word coming out.

Time passes with silence, nothing to speak or think about, just the silence which envelops her mind space.

. . .

"It looks good on you, K4." The boy said enthusiastically, the cracked remains of the mirror analysing the brown trenchcoat that hugs her body loosely, the darkened buttons get pulled up together now fully having changed into her new trenchcoat she starts to wander around the destroyed clothing store.

'The rewind definitely is at fault; this is 2145 November 11, which is precisely three months after the broadcast, which leaves us with one year to prevent the end of the world.'

Her dark green lens scan the clothing shop, her sturdy feet tap around the wooden boards and rocks scattered upon the concrete floor, and most of the clothing was either half torn or already taken, leaving not many options to fit, especially someone of a small figure.

"Hino, come here; this one might be good." Her pale metal arms took out a small-sized trench coat. The boy rushes over, instantly lighting his black eyes while looking up and down at his new trench coat. The material was pure cotton; it was firm and steady and definitely would last a year if taken care of despite the horrible conditions.

She hands over the trench coat and points quickly at the changing stall, somehow still intact after a three months of vandalism and rotting.

'System, can you check all my parameters?' her thoughts instinctively asked.

[...]

'The system failed?' This was definitely out of the ordinary for her; the system should stay up if she's alive, even if they are separate entities, yet the system seems dead.

Nothing responded; there were no signs of life within her mind. Her only trusted companion, which would never leave her despite the time rewinds, was gone; she alone had to bear the pain now of a repeating cycle.

"K4! What do you think?" The small boy entering back into her lens starts to turn around, giving a grand presentation of his new trench coat to her; the dark grey cotton mixed with the black unbuttoned ties added a mysterious yet goofy look to him despite his measly size. The most important part was how his black hair and eyes matched perfectly well with the trench coat.

K4 kneels down her metallic body swiftly without a sound, moving her white hair out of the way, and starts tying all the buttons tightly together; her pale human-like hands brush the cold buttons, which, after a couple of seconds, are now secured in place.

"Hino, go get your hat and bag; we must depart before nightfall. We have a tight schedule after all."

The boys winter boots echo around the rotting walls as the feeble sunlight continues to pour into the clothing shop illuminating the place, they both start to leave the shop etnering the chilly air, the coldness filled their lungs, the warmth of their new trench coats effictive at its job

The urban cityscape was overgrown with vines and various plant life which consumed the various apartments and shops , ravaged from the inside and out, looted with all valuables collected; no human life was in sight within the cities alleyways; abandoned white homogenous vehicles lay on the roads, broken for the use of scrap metal.

The sunlight is noticeably getting dimmer and dimmer due to the short sunlight hours during the winter; they would have to set camp soon. "We will head towards the laboratory I told you about earlier; I should be powerful after that upgrade."

"You will stay outside of it, making sure no one comes to enter it when I'm inside; do you remember?" Her eyes stare down upon Hino, waiting for a reply.

He puts his arms on his waist and puffs out his chest, "Of course I can do that; who do you take me for?" His confidence spoke volumes; deep down inside she knows that this is the best course of action from past events. Her past experiences gave her insight that there will be no danger to Hino.

His eyes lightened up while his eyes quickly darted to her face at the sudden remembrance. "Isn't that the gun you told me about earlier? or something..."

"You're correct, the railgun."