Last Savior

Alice frowned. "It's just a robot. If it's busted, ditch it."

Lucas pleaded, "I really like this robot. Please help me… Even criminals deserve some basic rights, right?"

Alice's eyes flickered with suspicion, and she let out a mirthless laugh. "Are you luring me into a trap you've set inside? Trying to drag me in there?"

Lucas shook his head so hard he nearly sprained his neck. "No way—I honestly just want you to help me carry my robot."

With a derisive snort, Alice finally said, "If you try any tricks, don't blame me for what happens. Go on, lead the way…"

They headed back down the shelter corridor into Room #14. Alice stayed fully on guard, eyes sweeping every corner for evidence of a possible ambush. But after circling the room, she found nothing suspicious—just Aurelia standing there, arms stretched out and pressed against the stasis capsule like a statue. Slowly, Alice concluded this clueless "simpleton" was only begging her to fix a robot, which struck her as both ridiculous and oddly endearing.

Aurelia, still with her arms raised, had one palm firmly against the capsule. She looked like something carved out of stone.

Alice pursed her lips, did a quick lap around the capsule, then finally fixed her gaze on Aurelia. "Open her access panel. Let me see if it's just a circuit problem. If not, there's nothing I can do."

Lucas shook his head slightly in defeat. "I don't even know about any 'access panel.' I was hoping you'd just help me carry her out… I'm sure she can repair herself once we're safe."

Alice looked momentarily stunned. "Don't tell me this robot's stolen too? You seriously don't know where her interface is?" She reached behind Aurelia's neck, patting around. At the sensation of Aurelia's skin, Alice gave a sarcastic coo. "Wow, that's some high-end synthetic skin—feels like a real person. My dear simpleton, that's another charge to add to your rap sheet."

"That's not contraband! Aurelia is my partner," Lucas retorted, sounding wronged.

"I don't buy it. A build that sophisticated must cost a fortune—there's no way even a hundred years of theft could pay for it," Alice said dismissively, still prodding around Aurelia's body. "Strange… there's no control panel at all."

Lucas tried again. "Uh… Captain Alice, can we skip the fiddling and just haul her out? I'll figure out how to fix her later."

Alice rolled her eyes. "What, you seriously want me to act as your pack mule for this hunk of metal that can't even walk right now? Fine. Any robot can be fixed the same way. Check out my ultimate move: Furious Fist of Justice!"

With those words, the officer—apparently out of patience—slammed her fist straight toward Aurelia's chest. In that same instant, it was like lightning had crashed through the room; the flash made Lucas's eyes sting.

Aurelia sprang to life. 

A frosty chill rippled through the air, like the temperature in the chamber had suddenly fallen below freezing. Alice's punch seemed to slow down to a snail's crawl, like someone had pressed a slow-motion button. Lucas shuddered—one second, it was a humid hothouse in here, and the next, it felt like the North Pole.

Along with that icy aura came a crushing sense of pressure, like an ancient beast awakening from slumber and silently claiming its domain.

Aurelia moved. One hand was still planted on the stasis capsule—her other arm twisted at an angle no normal human skeleton could handle, snakelike, slipping past Alice's oncoming fist and seizing her by the throat in one swift move.

Alice's punch completely missed. Though she was clearly bigger and bulkier, with a longer reach, Aurelia was already gripping her neck and lifting her off the ground.

A moment ago, Alice had been the badass enforcer… now she was like a startled kitten, her arms flailing helplessly in midair, unable to lay a single finger on Aurelia.

The sight was bizarre: Alice's body dangled just an arm's length away—close enough to touch Aurelia—but no matter how hard she struggled, her frantic swings found only empty space, as though Aurelia's arm had stretched out of reach. All Aurelia did, aside from heft Alice off the ground, was radiate lethal intent.

That overwhelming pressure only intensified, churning fishhook knots in Lucas's gut. He tried to stand firm, but he still felt like a tiny boat in a massive storm. He blurted out in alarm, "Aurelia, what's gotten into you?"

The moment those words left his mouth, Aurelia's grip loosened, and Alice dropped heavily, slamming onto the floor. Aurelia turned her gaze downward, eyes cold and piercing, like a queen looking down at lesser beings.

Lucas, equal parts terrified and awestruck, stumbled a step back, wincing. "Are you kidding me? I didn't build you to become a freaking Queen of Darkness! What's with the drama?"

But Aurelia seemed deaf to his complaints, only sweeping the room with a frosty stare. Her gaze lingered briefly on Lucas, revealing a hint of contempt. Her hand twitched as if considering whether to strike—ultimately, she didn't. Instead, she refocused her attention on the mutinous Captain Alice, snarling, "You… genetically augmented one… you offended my master… you die."

Alice's cheeks flared an angry red. She tried to sit up but shook uncontrollably. Somehow Aurelia's single grab had already robbed her of the power to fight. All Alice could do was retort through gritted teeth, "Hmph… I don't know what you are… but I'll tell you this: you just outed your buddy's secret. No man's ever gonna date a woman who can't keep her mouth shut!"

"I don't seek a mate. I belong to my master alone…" Aurelia sneered. A searing glow lit her from within, her skin turning crystalline and radiant. The stasis capsule she'd been touching also began to shimmer in tandem, pulsing with brilliant light.

Lucas yelled out, "Aurelia, cut it out! What're you doing?" At some point, the little mouse in his pocket scurried onto his shoulder, squeaking restlessly as it eyed Aurelia in alarm.

Aurelia's glow grew brighter and brighter, a blazing silhouette that pushed into the stasis capsule. When she noticed the mouse on Lucas's shoulder, she briefly furrowed her brow before shifting her gaze to Lucas's face, a flicker of warmth passing over her features—something recognizable.

"Aurelia! You remember me?" Lucas cried, hopeful. "Knock it off! If you fry your circuits again, I might never be able to fix you…"

But her eyes turned icy once more, brimming with queenly dominance. "Body… left to you… self-sealed repairs… in three months… will resume function…"

A colossal orb of energy rose up from Aurelia, like she was turning into living light, and surged toward the stasis capsule. A wave of heat filled the stone chamber, and Lucas felt like he was being roasted alive. He gave a suppressed groan.

"Ah—!" Alice moaned from the floor. Her curvaceous figure twisted about in indescribable shapes, apparently suffering even more than Lucas.

Aurelia all but fused with the stasis capsule, the radiance so intense it was impossible to tell one shape from the other.

Crap, we're gonna roast if we stay, Lucas thought. Grimacing, he mustered every ounce of strength and forced himself to stumble toward the exit. When he reached Alice, she lay there gasping, skin flushed a dangerous red. He hesitated. "Hey… what's wrong with you?"

She could only groan, no real answer. Her normal healthy tan had taken on a near-crimson hue, and her ragged breaths rasped in an oddly sensual way.

Lucas clenched his jaws, bent down, and hefted Alice onto his back. The instant her body touched him, she felt scalding hot, her hefty chest practically two blazing spheres pressed against him. He hissed in pain, staggering with each step and exclaiming in a tortured mumble, "Holy crap, those have gotta be at least F-cups!"

Inching his way past the doorway, he slid Alice off his back. With the stone walls blocking some of the heat, the burning sensation finally began to fade.