"Attention, the curfew is now in effect. Please stay inside your own mecha districts. Anyone caught outside their district will be prosecuted by the firing squad of the city of Imperial Mechapolis. Please co-operate." A computer announced from the peak of the Intellect tower situated at the centre of the city.

The city was dark and full of smoke and fog. The buildings looked more like brick factories emitting smoke from their chimneys. And from this darkness emerged a tall figure of a young man. He was thin and walked swiftly across the dilapidated streets, with slouching shoulders and light, pink eyes that almost looked misty. He gave out soft fog as he breathed through his mask, almost looking as if he were smoking, but he wasn't. He was wearing a blue hoodie and black jeans which were worn out from dust and rusticity. He paused suddenly and knocked on an old door. He was looking around when suddenly the door opened. Another man greeted him and they exchanged a kiss on the cheeks.

He had his face covered with a mask and only his green eyes would speak for him. A pair of bright, big, hooded green eyes.

Then, he took him inside.

"Another two species of birds are extinct today leaving us with only 35 more species of birds left in the states. Now, to the next news, mecha robots and the Mechapolis government ran into a huge hassle at the courthouse, killing 4 government officials. Russia to give a gift of 2K euros for every one human birth in order to flourish the declining human population." The news reporter spoke on the VR box as a hologram while they walked across the room.

It was a cosy home with warm, woollen carpets and tiny sofas. The walls were full of photo frames of both of them together, some with them still in their lab coats holding jars, while the others were polaroids of them spending time together, going on long hiking trips, skateboarding across Mechapolis or swimming.

He looked straight into his green eyes as they conversed and soon reached another room after crossing two doors. That room opened into a staircase towards a basement. As they walked down, the darkness seemed to fade away with a dull, neon green light and TV noises were soon subdued. The basement was lit in a sour green, UV light consisting of 5 colossal glass cells, as big to fit an entire human in them. Both of them moved towards the glass cells filled with a white gas making them look opaque.

He looked at the green-eyed guy as he held out a suitcase and opened it. It consisted of an entire computer system inside it. He quickly typed certain commands in the computer and the glass cells raised perpendicular to the floor. The ceiling above them moved away and opened all the way up to the chimney. The glass door of the cell opened and all the gas evaporated away, highlighting a female figure inside the cell. He picked her up on his back, "Good work, Nicole," He said to his green-eyed friend, "Now, start the time machine," He had a breathy voice and an unnatural, unheard English accent.

The green-eyed guy typed faster. Suddenly, they heard a knock on the door and turned back, alarmed and a bit terrified. They looked at each other, "They found us, hurry!" He whispered.

A brunette female walked inside their house, breaking the door into two halves.

"Another news, a terrorist cell was captured in California, two of them are still missing-- The mecha police are going under search," The news reporter said as she walked down to the basement. Her eyes glowed bright blue as she walked and picked up her gun. She had her name tattooed on her left shoulder: 'Beatrice'. She reached the basement and walked towards the cells. There was only one cell left out of the five.

She smiled and began shooting at it with her gun. It broke down and all the gas evaporated. She looked inside but it was empty. She was enraged. She crushed the glass beneath her boots and looked up at the sky through the chimney. The pink eyes of the man were shining brightly as he walked on the chimney stairs with that blonde female figure on his back. He walked up and reached the chimney top.

Beatrice pressed her boots on the ground and they emitted a bright flame. She flew up with a huge gush and swiftly reached him "You are caught, Ben! Surrender!" She shouted. But within the next moment, she was shot and fell down on one of the buildings. It was Nicole!

"Go 'head! I'll deal with her!" He shouted and Ben rested the blonde girl near a glass cell kept on the chimney top. Beatrice got up and looked at Nicole.
"You nasty cuck!" She got up and ran towards him.

Ben pressed the blonde girl into the cell and touched her face, "Asselyum, you're our final hope. Please come back with a piece of good news."
"You fool!" Beatrice jumped back and there was a huge explosion right under Nicole. She had used explosives and torn his body to shreds.
"Nicole!" Ben shouted from the top of the tower.

"You must stop, Ben!" She looked up at Ben.
"You killed another one of my friends. Unlike you, they can't come back, you monster! Once we lose them, they are gone forever."
"How sad, I don't care!" She flew towards him. He looked at the cell, his gaze was ghastly.

"Asselyum! Listen!" He shouted as he pressed his hands on the cell and it began shining. All the wires attached to it began shining and gave out a huge beam of light overhead. It reached till the clouds "Go back and fix everything. Find me and kill me!" He shouted as the lightning from above fell on the glass cell and soon it disappeared leaving a black mark on the floor.

"You jerk!" Beatrice shouted as she reached him. He turned towards the corner of the chimney and spread his arms as he fell "You can't stop me. You can't stop my Asselyum." He fell from that hundred feet tall chimney peak. Beatrice stood at the chimney peak "Dammit!"

"Attention, the curfew is now in effect. Please stay inside your own mecha districts. Anyone who got caught outside their district will be prosecuted by the firing squad of the city of Imperial Mechapolis. Please co-operate."

"Shut up, you bitch!" She shouted.

The City of Imperial Mechapolis, the birthplace of the robots, X- DROIDS and ANDROIDS. With the mecha revolution in the 22nd century headed by an anonymous male who called himself "BEN- Beta Enhancement Nationale", replaced 50% of the human population with robots-- Making life simpler for humans. This only grew more and more until the next century. But then came another man- Dr Nicole Frank, who invented X- DROIDS to artificially introduce a superior human breed into the existing population-- They were a success until they became biological weapons which many countries used against each other during the third world war.

Humans ended up creating 5 most powerful X-DROIDs called '5th Oblivion', much superior than existing robots. They could think on their own, unlike robots. They came up with powerful moves to bring the US an easy victory. After the war ended, their main goal shifted from fighting to reproduction.

The third world war brought in more weaponry robots and facilitated the spread of this alien disease called "Antigenic X-DROID infection" more commonly called Antex infection caused due to the 5th Oblivion mating with humans. By the end of the 24th century, this pandemic wiped off 70% of the human population causing a huge decline in it. The independent state governments were dissolved and a single 'World Government order' was established over the entire world, headed by president Dexter Benovolis after the legacy of his father.

The time machine, one of the biggest invention of the century was used to teleport the X-DROID population to the past, back to the 21st century, when nothing had started. They were kept inside a formulated prison over there. This decision was met with harsh criticism but the right to free speech had been dissolved due to the declaration of emergency.

However, the disease continued to spread and converted more humans into X-DROIDS. To fix this, a team of 10 most gifted scientists all over the world were called together led by Mr Ben- A man who had managed to survive in all these centuries and still looked just as young and fresh. Nobody knew if he was a human or just another AI controlling the entire human population but he was too intellectually gifted to be ignored.

Together with his team, Ben prepared 5 ultra-specific robot units and named them 'ANDROIDS' collectively called "Xtreme 5"- The most powerful ANDROIDS on the planet- Each one was a better version of the other. They were five generations of the same model. Asselyum being the primitive model and Lucifer being the final, advanced model.

They were funded by the world government and eliminated the X-DROID population in the world within five years. '5th Oblivion' went missing after ANDROID introduction. Rumours were that they went to the past to break open the formulated prison and wreck havoc. The scientists suspected that they were planning something big behind their backs and must be stopped. As this problem was solved, the World Government received a message from their cadets in the 21st century. The 5th Oblivion had reached the 21st century and they were out for human flesh to strengthen themselves and come back stronger.

But the coward government was afraid to be away from the protection of ANDROIDS and hence decided not to send them to the past. As soon as Ben got this news, he did two things. One, he asked his best friend, Nicole Frank, to change the location of gelleptical cells--The fibreglass cases which could withstand any radiations given off by the time machine. Second, he rushed towards the Metropolitan tower to confront the President with his team.

"They must face it. We need the ANDROIDS here." Dexter said as Ben stood before him. Everyone seemed to have a really different accent. Surely, the language had changed too, having many new slangs and terms.

"You sent them there?" Ben said "I cannot believe it--Why would you do this to those innocent people in the past?! We can't be so heartless, you doof!"
"Our people are our first priority."
"Not if it's extremely unethical! Nobody has the right to destroy civilisations. Even if that person happens to be you."

"I knew you'd say that. Even when you've made this civilisation. Why don't you just sit back and watch, like a true creator" Dexter approached Ben and touched his face "Your old body cannot stand strong for very long, even though you manage to keep it young, what is it? Adrenochrome?"

Ben slapped his hands and looked into his eyes, "I presume you're not going to change your decision,"
"Absolutely not,"
"In that case, I will lead the ANDROIDS to the past with the time machine, both of them are my inventions after all." Ben turned back and realized that they were surrounded by men with guns. Ben turned towards Dexter.

"I kind of expected this." Ben looked at him. "Fine, kill me so that I don't have to witness this further destruction of humanity,"
Dexter walked towards him and held his hand "Kill everyone except him." He ordered and Ben looked into his eyes. He was shocked.

"So, you were with him all along!" One of his teammates shouted.
"No! I'm not!" Ben defended himself.
"Fuck you, traitor!"

The men opened fire and within a few minutes, the walls of the room were covered red. Ben could do nothing to save his team but desperately run across the room to shield their bodies, only in vain. When everything was over, the robots began cleaning the blood.

"Why?" Ben asked, "Why must you kill everything?!" Ben got up and grabbed his collar, "What the hell do you want?! How can you call yourself human?"
Dexter touched Ben's fingers and looked into his eyes, "I want you,"
"You're insane!" Ben pulled away as he continued screaming, "I do not feel anything for you!"
"Then, I won't let you feel anything for anyone. And if you do, then bam! Snap, they dead...dead as hell,"

Ben shook his head and jumped on the windowpane behind him, "Even if I die tomorrow, I will make sure you do not attend my funeral, you fucking rapist!" Ben jumped down the window. His boots emitted out flames and he went flying towards the other end of Mechapolis. Dexter smiled as he looked at him go, "Send for Beatrice. Tell her to see if he doesn't do anything that gets him killed. My little baby boy has run away yet again."

Ben flew in the sky as he covered himself with a mask and a blue hoodie. He flew over the dark city and landed in the dark streets of a soot-covered town and began walking. He soon reached a small, obscure house with a huge chimney that wasn't emitting out anything. He knocked on the door and Nicole opened it.

. . .

Century 21st

It was raining heavily that night. The lightning struck the ground and made zig zags all over the night sky, roaring like a little child on tantrums. It was an alienated, stormy night in New York City. In a slump on the outskirts of the city, the same neon green lightning fell from the sky, making a huge explosion. Few men nearby were drinking in the rain.

"Wow, you saw that shit?"
"Bet it set something on fire, let's check it out!"

The cell was fixed on the ground and the glass case opened slowly. The blonde female figure, Asselyum as per what Ben called her, came out. She was tall and lean just like him and had short, blonde hair sticking to her wet skin. Her eyes were glowing blue while the monitor inside her eyes was still scanning the surroundings to collect information. She was covered with metallic gears, and a metal bodysuit "Ben," She said with an expressionless face as she reached her arms towards nothingness, "Don't cry,"

That's when she looked at her hand, which was giving off tiny sparks of light, "My energy seems to be leaking. Did I break something? Troubleshoot, programme," She said to herself and a neon blue scan ran across her body, "Right arm rotation gear is damaged, not fatal, energy percentage is 82%, downloading mission files,"

She was busy setting up her programmes when those men approached her, "Damn, do you see that? What is a woman doing here so late at night?"
"Only one way to find out buddy," He jumped out of the bushes and ran towards her, "Hey misses, what's popping?"
But she didn't reply, "Obstruction created."

Her eyes rolled back from her skull and fixed themselves on him. She scanned his body and touched his clothes,

"Dammit! She getting all comfortable with Jones! That lucky bastard!" One of his friends, who were still hiding in the bushes, seemed irritated and impatient.
"I wonder what that jerk even said to her,"
"Me says she's a hooker,"

Asselyum moved her hands down his neck, to his shoulders and squeezed his arms, then moved down to his fingers, "What century is this?" She asked.
"You mean year? 20XX?"
"And where are we? What city is this?"
"You don't know you're in New York?"

He looked at Asselyum as she moved her hands across his body, "Human," She looked at him as she held his hands, gently, "You are human,"
"Yes, I am!" He slapped his chest, "All solid,"
"Then, I mustn't hurt you,"

"Mission files completed 50%, energy percentage 82%"
She walked away from him to clear her signal, but he suddenly walked toward her, "Wait, where are you going?" He grabbed her by her hand and caught a severe electric shot, his body caught fire and all his friends freaked out "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!"
"Systems overheating, move the target away, system overheating, move the target away,"
Her eyes glowed blue and soon, anything around her, within the radius of one metre turned to ashes. "Obstructions cleared. Mission files downloaded. Tap hint to open," Her systems spoke inside her. She puffed her chest,

"Open,"

"Asselyum," She heard Ben's pre-recorded message, "They've killed everyone. Nicole and I probably won't be alive by the time you come back. But you are fighting for a greater cause. All the files are there in your drive. This will be a dirty job, but that's what dirty people do. Don't make wars and do not go nuclear, at any rate.

Be safe. Be a good girl.
Daddy loves you,"

The message ended and she looked around, "Fight, I must fight," She opened a queue of four names before her, "And survive, we must,"

- To be continued

Asselyum
5500 Rebellion