Heading Home

After a calming relaxation upon the sand, they both stand up, ready to depart back to the old man and the Nole Express.

'This was an eventful day after all; I got tonnes of new information finally after five rewinds.' Her satisfaction was granted at last.

Turning her head to Hino, who seems a bit hazy, she wanders about the consequences of the entire ordeal within the laboratory; this was too much even compared to the previous rewinds where he would be borderline depressive.

"Hey, Hino, you did well, you know. You caught that blade well." Giving a wide smile at him, trying to cheer him up in any way possible would be beneficial for his mental health.

He gives a weak fake smile. "You could've put a bit less power into it, at least." He throws a glance at her; he wasn't pleased with his hands being all roughed up and slightly torn apart.

"Maybe don't get caught..." a hidden remark to throw his attention off the series of events

His eyes widen and his mouth opens wider. "It wasn't my plan! It just moved so fast that I couldn't predict it." A mere human trying to predict a rushing robot to grab them by the neck was certainly an excuse to help him out here.

"We will see how you improved in the next three months; then it will be interesting," she suggested her departure.

His eyes reflecting the fire look into hers in a sombre way. "You're going to be recalibrated, aren't you?" He looks down onto her hand, which holds the railgun.

'In these three months, the old man trains him to be a hunter; it will be useful as well because relying on my railgun is draining.' Hino being a hunter will change him in many ways after all, and K4 was looking forward to it.

"Just three months... Let's start heading back to the Nole Express." Her robotic legs push themselves up, and the sand which clung so dearly was being patted off by her. Waiting for Hino to stand up too, she looks around the Ara sands.

'The worms should be going rampant somewhere now; the ara sands are so big that it's unlikely they will run out of space anytime soon.' The metallic worms, having their connection cut from the laboratory, see no purpose in staying there; now they stray off as beasts in the sands.

Looking to her side, Hino has stood up next to her; they both give each other a final look before starting to descend the peak of the dunes, their journey slowly coming to an end. The old man still waiting for them in the distance wanders inside the noble express preparing its home journey.

Crossing the Ara sands without a word, they stumble back underneath the huge tall bridge which they jumped off from. The massive structure lies above them, stretching to the sky. Hino, prepared to go on K4's back, looks at the sudden freeze in her behaviour.

Turning back to face him, K4 starts to look saddened. "The way back up might be more extensive..." She couldn't jump up the bridge, but knowing this from a previous rewind, she points towards the left at a near enough dune peak that she could jump from.

Walking towards the dune peak, Hino had one question left on his mind: "Hey K4, is the development our enemy?" Her face became confused.

'Obviously the development is our enemy; what type of question is this?' Her thoughts were left speechless.

"The development caused the revolt; it was made by our mother, and it was placed in that laboratory. We blew it up, didn't we? There is no enemy left." His logic was fairly on point except for the fact that the world still ends a year from now.

K4 looks down with a tired expression. "It's still out there; there is a faint signal emitting around us at all times. I should've told you earlier." Her lie was perfect; a human would never detect such lies after all; they can't measure signals.

"Right." He doesn't press further.

They reach the peak of the sand dune K4 pointed at earlier, their positions starting to prepare for a huge jump once more. K4 kneels down upon the warm sand, getting ready to shoulder the weight of Hino on top of her.

He latches on to her back, making sure everything is secure, and with the laboratory gone and the railgun in hand, they can finally end their journey with this one jump.

swoosh

The air glides past their bodies, giving a slight resistance; they soar across the arid sands towards the stone bridge. When K4 was about to land on top of it, her jump was miscalculated; she nearly overshot the bridge, quickly halting to a stop over the other end's ledge. It was a close one.

Looking back, the stonework was even slightly damaged from the forced emergency stop; her metallic legs dug into the stonework and were unable to get pulled out.

"Hino, step off and take the railgun into the Nole Express." She kneels down once more, letting him hop off her back. Snatching the railgun, he rushes back into the Nole Express.

The old man stepping out sees the unfortunate event and tells Hino to get in while he rushes over to help K4; his heavy footsteps rumble the stonework slightly as he heads towards her.

"Seems you're a bit stuck, aren't you?" His voice was filled with relief at their safe return. He positions himself next to K4, his strong arms grabbing onto K4's legs, and he sharply pulls each one out, letting her move around once more.

Her face looked at the man with gratitude. "Thank you for waiting and getting me out; I overshot the landing zone." There was a hint of embarrassment that someone of her power made such a simple calculating mistake.

His laughter overwhelmed the dry air. "Seems even a war robot needs a bit of human help after all." There was a sense of reminiscing within him.

With both of their thanks and jokes made, they both walk back to the Nole Express. The old man enters the front carriage with all the controls once more, and K4 goes to the citizen's carriage with a familiar sight, meeting her once more.

The lined seats and windows in equal intervals remind her of how they first were getting here and now that they were heading back in the same day, so much has happened within an hour of their lives.

Taking a seat next to Hino, K4 sits down at the same seat, her lens wandering off to the railgun lying at the opposite side of the carriage like a prized treasure just out of reach. The Nole Express starts its journey backwards this time; the train was very reliable, it seemed.

Hino sitting in the silence gave her a sense of worry. "Hey, Hino, are you ready for the next step in our plan?" Her voice rang with excitement.

"We're heading towards Shilo; the city gets invaded in four months, and nothing is left. Your railgun upgrade takes three months, yet the only thing of concern is how you know all this." All the points made and his reasoning put up a conclusion in his head; this rewinding was serious. Earlier he only speculated and was confused, but now with his head cleared, he found out the truth.

K4 leans back on the seat with a sigh, letting out of her mouth, "Yes, the rewind stuff was real; your mother made a time-rewind mechanism ever since they made the development. I'm stuck in this neverending cycle of failure, trying to protect something that was never given to me."

Her words stung her like touching thorns and expecting the cut.

'Why am I saving humanity anyway? These people who I care about are just temporary; they will die within the next hundred years, while I can fix myself for plenty more.

K4's gaze shifted towards Hino, who stares back at silence. The sunlight pouring in gives them a sense of calmness, a sense of peace within the chaotic world.

"So tell me why, Hino, why was I the one tasked with saving the world?"

The silence continued; there was no reply to such a question. The choice wasn't k4s or hinos to be made; they were thrown in, and throughout the journey of life, they were developed into people that are now faced with a world-turning mission to save the world.

The Nole Express started to return to the greyish grassy plains, the temperature starting to drop once more. Hino puts on his trench coat back once more; there wasn't a word said for the rest of the train ride until the station.

With the train halting and being returned to the station, K4 can begin her procedure of turning into a war weapon.