The princess in the mech

The heat pressed down on Elliot like a suffocating blanket. He sat cross-legged on the cracked earth of the **Desert of Araxys**, sweat dripping down his forehead as he tried—and failed—to understand Jax’s explanation.
“Okay,” Elliot said, squinting against the blazing twin suns overhead. “So you’re telling me this place is crawling with monsters, death storms, and… whatever else lives in this *lovely vacation spot*—” he waved at the endless sand dunes stretching forever in every direction, “—and you’re just acting like it’s casual Tuesday?”
Jax’s shadow loomed over him, broad and unmoving. The warrior’s voice was calm, but carried weight. “It is not Tuesday. It is survival. That is all that matters in Araxys.”
Elliot rolled his eyes. “Great. Love that for us. Totally clears everything up. You should print it on a T-shirt.” He muttered, *I should be at home eating cereal, not dying of heatstroke in a monster desert.*
The ground suddenly trembled. Sand spilled from the nearby dunes, rolling like waves in an ocean.
A deep metallic thud shook the earth.
Then another.
And another.
From the golden haze of heat and dust, a **giant mech machine** emerged, stomping across the sand like some mechanical god of war. Its armored plates gleamed under the suns, etched with glowing runes that pulsed like veins of fire. Steam hissed from vents, and each step sent shockwaves through the desert floor.
Elliot’s jaw dropped. *That’s… that’s a mech. A real-life mech. I’m in an anime. Holy—* He quickly snapped his mouth shut and forced a scowl. “Eh. Cool robot. Not impressed.”
Inside, though, he was screaming like a fangirl at a boyband concert.
The mech stopped, lowering onto one knee with surprising elegance. Its chest opened with a hydraulic hiss, and from within stepped a **masked figure** draped in a flowing cloak.
The figure bowed.
Jax dropped to one knee instantly. His voice was low, reverent. “Princess.”
Elliot’s head whipped between the mech, Jax, and the masked figure. “Princess? Like, *actual royalty* princess? Are we about to start singing with woodland animals, or…?”
The mask slid open with a mechanical sigh.
And Elliot forgot how to breathe.
She was stunning—dark hair tumbling over her shoulders like rivers of silk, eyes sharp enough to slice through him, and features so flawless it was almost unfair. She looked like she had been painted by the universe just to mess with mortal men.
Elliot’s brain short-circuited. *Oh no. Ohhh no. She’s gorgeous. Abort mission. Reboot system.*
The princess’s voice carried effortlessly, commanding yet calm. “Get aboard. Quickly. We don’t have time.”
“Yep. Totally. Let’s just climb inside the giant robot with the scary-beautiful princess,” Elliot mumbled, shuffling after Jax like a stunned zombie.
---
Inside the mech, Elliot was hit with sensory overload. The interior hummed with glowing lines of energy that pulsed through the walls, casting everything in a soft blue light. Strange runes flickered across translucent screens, and control panels were sleek but alien.
He brushed his hand across one. It felt warm, alive. “This is… wow. Like NASA meets ancient wizardry. Honestly? Elon Musk is somewhere crying into his Twitter app.”
Jax ignored him, standing stiff and alert.
The mech marched across the desert, the vast dunes stretching endlessly under the suns. Elliot caught glimpses of monstrous shadows slithering just beneath the sand. At one point, something with too many teeth..

 they reached a shimmering **barrier wall** rising out of the sands. It curved up into the horizon like a dome of living light, keeping the horrors of Arayxs at bay.

The barrier rippled as the mech approached, then peeled open with a sound like rushing wind.
On the other side was a revelation.
A vast **hidden city** sprawled beneath the dome. Towers of polished stone and steel rose high, crowned with glowing crystals. Bridges of light connected them, and flying platforms zipped through the air. Crowds bustled in the streets, merchants called out from floating stalls, and strange machines whirred everywhere.
It was advanced—more advanced than anything Elliot had seen back on Earth. But his nerd brain noted the flaws. “Cool tech. But like… still no Wi-Fi routers. Weak.”
The mech lowered onto a hovering disk, which descended smoothly underground into the heart of the city. Citizens stared openly at Elliot, murmuring: *outsider, surface-born, stranger.*
Elliot tugged his hoodie tighter. “Awesome. No pressure. Just the entire city looking at me like I’m a circus act.”
The princess finally turned to him, eyes narrowing. “Who is this stranger?”
Elliot tried to speak. He really did. But all that came out was: “Uhhhhh…”
Jax stepped in. “He’s an outsider. I found him wandering in the sands of Araxys. He doesn’t know our ways.”
The princess studied Elliot like she could see straight through him. He, meanwhile, was busy falling in love with her *eyebrow*.
*Seriously. Even her eyebrow is majestic. I hate this. I’m doomed.*
She sighed, unclasping her mech armor. Piece by piece it slid off: the glowing pauldrons, sleek chestplate, armored boots. Beneath, she wore a fitted black and silver suit, simple yet elegant. The kind of outfit that said she was both a warrior and royalty.
Elliot’s brain melted. His face turned crimson.
Then—*SPLURT.* His nose erupted like a geyser.
He staggered, hands flailing. “I—I—uhhhh—”
And collapsed.
The princess stared down at his unconscious body, unimpressed.