(A/N: If you haven't seen Episode 6, then watch this to avoid spoilers.)

https://youtu.be/U7i6fi3z9Nk

(A/N: If you're aware of the synopsis of this episode, then enjoy the story.)

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Episode Summary: Lots of monsters in this episode... WHY ARE THERE SO MANY MONSTERS?!

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(Opening: Murder drones anime opening)

https://youtu.be/gKrbvAh9HrE

(Opening Ends)

==========

The scene opens to show a beautiful beach as seagulls squawk in the background. However, once zooming out, its revealed to be a background on a computer monitor in an office setting.

The lights then flicker off as a female Worker Drone named Drone 029 is seen hiding under a desk.

She peeks out to see the paralyzed body of a fellow drone stuck in a boot loop. Looking around to see no one coming, she crawls slowly towards her colleague as a claw emerges from the shadows. Though she doesn't notice this, she was finally able to reach her fallen friend before hearing a chirping sound.

Just then, a bright blue flash appears in the distance, and she quickly tries to drag her fellow Worker Drone by the foot. Fearing whatever monstrosities are coming over, she briefly hides until she works up the courage to finish dragging the drone. However, just before she could even reach him, two unknown creatures coming rushing in began to tear the poor drone apart, spilling oil everywhere.

This causes the female WD to go back into hiding as she begins to breath heavily and covers her mouth to prevent noise. She feels a bit of relief hearing they're gone, but then looks up to see a blue light shine down upon her. Looking up, Drone 029 is horrified to see that an Anti-Drone Sentinel had found her.

She desperately tries to escape, but the Sentinel flashes a beam of light into her optics, freezing her in place through a boot loop. With Drone 029 immobilized, the Sentinel crawls down and feasts on her.

As this was happening, the events that have transpired were all being captured on a security camera.

========== (Scene Change) ==========

The scene changes to show where we last left out heroes now facing J, Doll, and Tessa. There was an awkward silence before N walks up to them.

N: (shocked) "T-Tessa...?"

Without warning, Tessa grabs N by the face and lifts him up with joy.

Tessa: (smiles) "N! You remember-"

She stops when she begins coughing.

Tessa: (coughs) "Tall, handsome... Air's toxic..."

She then takes notice of Uzi and points at her.

Tessa: "Who is this little-"

Uzi bits her finger, causing her to back away in pain.

Tessa: "Ah!"

Uzi: (glares) "Uzi! Why are you here, human?!"

She then takes notice J.

Uzi: (annoyed glare) "Real tired of killing this one."

J stroke her hair back and smirks.

J: (smirks) "Effective drones were cloned more."

N: (chuckles) "It is you."

V: (smirks) "Classic J."

Tessa then turns her attention to both Kyle and Demi who is surprised and shocked by their appearance, especially when she saw Kyle retract his helmet and seem completely fine.

Tessa: (shocked) "What the bloody Hell? How the hell are you able to breath the air? Matter of fact, how is there a living human here?"

Kyle: "My lungs are able to filter out the toxic air, allowing me to breath normally. As for how I got here? All you need to know is that I ended up here by accident."

Tessa: "Right well who are you... and your big friend here?"

Kyle: "...... Call me Kyle Hammond. This is my AI partner and friend Demi."

Demi: "Greetings."

Tessa: (smiles) "...... Well alright then!"

When the group didn't know while they were distracted is that both Kyle and Demi were speaking on a private channel.

Demi: (private channel) "Pilot... there is something off about this Tessa character."

Kyle: (private channel) "So you noticed it too huh?"

Demi: (private channel) "Indeed. The thing is... I'm not getting any life signs from her. Should we engage?"

Kyle: (private channel) "Negative. We don't know what's happening, but I'll make sure to keep an eye on her. But didn't you tell me there was a human signature? Isn't this Tessa person that same signature? The same one we saw in the memory."

Demi: "Pilot, that memory took place in the past. Long before we arrived here. As scary as this might sound, the Tessa in front of us might not be the same one we saw in N and V's memories. She could've very well have been killed long ago. Regardless, we should remain cautious and ensure the survival of our friends."

Kyle: "Agreed."

The duo then turns their attention back to Tessa and J as they try to explain the situaton.

Tessa: "Cyn disappeared on Earth-"

J: "Boss ran away."

Tessa: (annoyed) "We mutually disengaged. Her last known act was siccing you lot on the human exoplanets."

N: (confused) "Why?"

J lands in front of the group.

J: "That's what we're trying to figure out, bozo."

All of a sudden, Doll activates her Absolute Solver and snatches the Keybug on top of Tessa's head. It lands into her hands, and she begins to take off via teleportation.

Tessa: "That's... kind of a big piece."

Suddenly, the group hears the sound of machinery as they see Kyle embarking into his Vanguard Titan and Demi switching to the Northstar-Class Titan Loadout.

Kyle: (glares) "Demi! Chase after her!"

Demi: "Flight core activated."

The Titan flies off as J chases after, followed by the others.

========== (Scene Change) ==========

J, Tessa, and Kyle are seen chasing after Doll as they open fire against her. J was firing missiles while Tessa was firing her revolver. Kyle, on the other hand, was firing his PR-01 Plasma Railgun. Getting closer, Kyle activates and fires a Cluster Missile, only for Doll to still be able to dodge before falling down into the large shaft. Soon Uzi, N, and V catch up as Kyle disembarked from his Titan and stood next to them.

Tessa: "J, relay hand, Cyn's orders."

Uzi looked to lose her balance as N tried to help her, but she smacks his hand away. Kyle then grabs Uzi and pulls her to safety as both N and V follow. J is seen pulling up a holographic screen to input the relay.

J: "Step one: Clear drop zone of life and construct spire. Step two-"

Tessa: "Enter labs with this symbol."

She taps hard on a wall of snow and it falls down to reveal a poster behind it. Taped near the bottom:

CABIN FEVER

Tessa: "Not too much to go off, but if Cyn wants these labs, we burn them down. That Keybug's our way in."

A hologram appears to show a map of the labs. Directions are shown which leads to an elevator. Tessa then walks towards the edge of the scaffolding.

Tessa: "J, mind my ship."

She tosses J the keys. Catching it, J glances at N and V with uncertainty before saluting.

J: (salutes) "...Of course, boss."

She flies off as Tessa continues to walk, only for Uzi to stand before her, blocking her path as she walks up to her.

Uzi: (glares) "Why involve Doll? What's happening to... her?"

She bends down and leans towards Uzi.

Tessa: "She reckons the humans did something to her folks down here. Gave them a sickness she inherited."

Hearing this, Uzi narrows her eyes as she touched her neck before looking back at Tessa.

Uzi: (glares) "...And?"

Tessa: "I think she's right..."

For Kyle, he noticed there was an ominous atmosphere, causing him to place his finger on the trigger in case Tessa turns hostile. However, such actions weren't needed when she turned to both N and V.

Tessa: "Coming or what?"

With that, she jumps off, leaving our heroes concerned, wondering whether it's a good idea to follow her. After a few seconds, Kyle stores Demi in his storage device and prepares to dive in after her.

Kyle: (sighs) "Well you heard her. Let's get going."

N: (worried) "Are you... sure this is a good idea?"

Kyle: (nods) "I don't think we have a choice. We're here to find answers and wherever Doll or Tessa are going is where we're gonna find them."

Uzi: (glares) "He's right. We've come this far. Let's not stop now."

Both N and V gave each other looks before nodding in agreement.

========== (Scene Change) ==========

After jumping into the hole, the group lands down in the dark, damp cavern below the surface and begin to look around. Kyle, Uzi, and V are seen shining their flashlights while Tessa is seen petting N's hair, causing him to look at her. Seeing the coast was clear, the group make their way over to somewhere near the entrance.

N: "Is the secret elevator... labeled?"

No answer as V rolls her eyes. Meanwhile, we see Uzi's tail nibbling on Kyle's helmet before he gently grabbed it.

Kyle: "Stop that."

Uzi: "Sorry. Has a mind of its own."

The group moves forward as they continue to explore. As they were walking, Tessa accidentally kicks a severed Drone arm. It rolls somewhere as she sees the piles of Disassembly Drone corpses. Everyone looks around at their besmirched setting. N looks like he's ready to vomit while Uzi and V looked disturbed. Kyle, Demi and Tessa were the only ones not so affected, but they silently admitted this was a grim sight. V shines her flashlight and sees the words 'DON'T LOOK' on multiple sides of the wall plastered in oil. One phrase in particular is the words 'THE LIGHT'.

Tessa: "Riiiight... Might be some security, specifically against..."

She begins walking as they see a damaged monitor with what looked like claw marks scratched onto them. Kyle looks over and sees the words:

⚠️CORE COLLAPSE⚠️

And another phases of words like:

WARNING

ANTI-DRONE SENTINELS

STAT: FREE ROAM

Tessa then appears behind the monitor and does a double finger gun, pointing at our group of heroes.

Tessa: "...you guys."

As the group walks over, 

Uzi looks to her left to see more writing on the wall. Most of it was the same...

DON'T LOOK

THE LIGHT

...except now she saw the bloody hand drawing of the head of a Sentinel. Scared, she slowly reaches out for Kyle's hand until Tessa jumps from the desk while striking a pose.

Tessa: "Human-made security this human can control."

Kyle narrows his eyes as he felt there was something off about 'Tessa'. He remembers what Demi said and with that sentence just said, it made him suspicious about her... or if this is even the real Tessa at all. Meanwhile, Tessa kicks away a computer and walks over to a printer.

Tessa: (chuckles) "Hehehehe!"

Unfortunately, when she got the paper, the words written were not so hopeful.

ACCESS DENIED

She looks at the paper for a few seconds before slowly putting it back.

Tessa: "...Maybe."

Narrowing his eyes, Kyle walks over and takes the paper from the printer. Reading the contents, he turns and glares at her.

Kyle: (glares) "You don't have control, do you?"

Tessa: (nervous smile) "I mean... I'm sure we'll be fine... right?"

Sighing frustration, he crumples the paper and throws it away as he looks over to see V picking on her teeth with a pen.

Kyle: (sigh) "Come on. Let's get going."

V: (shrugs) "If you say so. Anything to screw Cyn's plan."

N: (smiles) "And for Mom backstory."

He looks over to Uzi.

N: (smiles) "Right, dude?"

Uzi: "...Yeah."

She glances back towards the Disassembly Drone corpse until she was gently shaken by Kyle.

Kyle: "Come on. Best get going."

Uzi: "R-Right."

The group continues walking until they come across a directory. It states that the secret elevator is north of their direction. N giggles excitedly over being right and turns to his friends for validation. V's eye just twitches, while Uzi gives a supportive nod. Kyle honestly felt annoyed that the 'Secret Elevator' seemed to be put in a public place for everyone to see.

Kyle: (annoyed) "Seriously? Whose dumb idea was it to make this sign?"

Tessa: "Huh. Righty-ho. Sources say that way-"

Before she can finish, something wrapped around her leg and she gets dragged off by her foot.)

Tessa: (rapidly) "Except I'm going this way, so save me if you can, THANKS!"

As Tessa is dragged off, Kyle opens fire with his Assault Rifle, only of the plasma rounds to graze the tentacle and still drag her away. He tried to boost after her but by then she was too far gone. Kyle the looks back to the others and motions them to follow.

Kyle: "Come on!"

========== (Scene Change) ==========

The group is seen trying to find out where Tessa got dragged off to. As they were running, the stop at the end of a corridor where they hear the sounds of a child's laughter. Backing away and taking cover, Kyle peeks from around the corner, aiming his Assault Rifle, only to see what appeared to be an Untrained Neural Network wearing a cowboy hat. This confused the Titan Pilot as both N and Uzi also peeked over and got confused by the sight.

Uzi: (confused) "...Shoot the baby immediately?"

Kyle: (confused) "Wait what?"

N: (panics) "That's not soon enough!"

Without warning, N opens fire with his SMG, causing the 'Baby' to spout out legs. The Untrained Neural Network in question is named Beau.

He dodges the gunfire before running off as the group charges after it while N continues to open fire. Eventually they stopped as they got to the position the baby was once at. Before anyone them could make the next move, an arm of a Disassembly Drone lands in front of them.

Although confused and worried at fight, they then see it switch its servo to an EMP detonator. The sound of a thud catches their attention as they turn around to see Beau and a female Worker Drone named Alice.

Alice: (chuckles) "Hey, surface slickers."

She snaps her fingers, and they turn to see the arm begin to activate.

Kyle: (wide eyes) "Crap! Everyone get-!"

It was too late as an EMP explosion occurs, and everything goes black.

========== (Scene Change) ==========

In an unknown amount of time later, the sound of an Ax chopping is heard as Uzi is seen waking up. She looks around her as we see a magnet attached to her head and is restrained on a table. In front of her are security monitors that are all pointed at doors. Sitting up and groaning from the electric shock from the magnet, she looks to her right and sees Alice chopping off the head of a Drone. Scared, Uzi tries to escape but to no avail. It was then Alice took notice of her.

Alice: "Sentinels picked at this one. I try and not damage good parts."

She seen cutting something off the dead Worker Drone and attaches it to her horns while Uzi looks at her with a bewildered expression.

Alice: "Of course, some parts are more valuable than others, ain't they?"

She scurries on the floor before going over to a curtain. Pulling it back, it reveals V who is also tied up.

V: "More valuable."

Alice is seen raising the ax and prepares to chop V's head off, only for Uzi to stop her.

Uzi: "Whoa, hey, cut that thing up and you're gonna get a big creepy worm. An improvement."

V looks away annoyed while Alice seemed unconcerned.

Alice: "Nah, heat keeps 'em sluggish."

She hops on top of an oven and opens the door, revealing the contents inside: Absolute Solver creatures in a non-hostile form.

Alice: "Ain't our first rodeo."

She closes the door while Uzi clearly looks grossed out.

Uzi: "...Okay, that's enough of this."

She tries to activate her Absolute Solver... only for it not to work due to the magnet on her head.

Alice: (chuckles) "Dealt with witches 'fore, too."

She places a knife near Uzi neck and Alice notices a very familiar necklace.

Aline: (glares) "Though, ain't seen 02 since she left us to die...!"

Uzi becomes fearful and is shocked this Worker Drone knows her mother.

========== (Scene Change) ==========

In another room, Tessa is bound to a table as she's seen trying to escape while N is heard giggling.

Tessa: "Little buddy, you're gonna get red and sad if you try that with me."

Beau is working on N, who seems to enjoy this, for some reason. The male Disassembly Drone is basically seen giggling like a child.

N: (giggles) "It tickles! The bad version, though!"

Beau pauses for a bit as sweat marks are seen on his visor. Hea adjusts the light and summons a cloth to pat away the sweat before looking back at N.

N: (smiles and winks) "...Doing great, dude."

Tessa: "N, whose side-"

Beau turns and Tessa quiets down as she tries to seem unconscious. He then motions his head and points somewhere on his body.

N: (smiles) "Tried sawing there?"

Glancing at his body, Beau switches to his saw and lowers it to a specific spot. N shakes his head 'No'. Beau moves his saw a little bit to N's right and he winks, indicating 'yes'. The baby drone smile and was about to get back to work when he was suddenly interrupted by Alice calling him on the radio.

Alice: (radio comms) "Beau, we've got Nori's kid here!"

The sound of a crunching bite is heard, followed by Uzi's laughter that can be heard in the background.

Alice: (radio comms) "Need more sedatives. It's bitey."

Glancing at a bowl of magnet, he switches to using tongs and grabs a couple of magnets before leaving. Just as he was about to head out the door, Beau turns to see N waving him goodbye. Despite the situation they were all in, Beau peeks his head in to wave back.

With the killer baby drone now finally gone, Tessa is seen finally freeing herself from her restraints and stretches.

Tessa: "Ugh, finally, the code. Lordy..."

She takes the magnet off her head thanks to the use of a hidden knife.

Tessa: "Walk and talk?"

========== (Scene Change) ==========

Elsewhere, in another room, Kyle groans as he's seen waking up from being knocked out by the EMP blast. He looks around and sees that he's in some kind of room. He tries to move, but notices he's been chained to the wall. Using his superhuman strength, he snaps the chains off and break free. Noticing three magnets on his helmet, he rips them off as Demi comes back online.

Demi: "Pilot, are you alright?"

Kyle: (groans) "Yup. Never better. Where are we? Where's everyone else?"

Demi: "Other than the fact we're in what appears to be a lab, unknown. However, our group has been separated but I can track them. N and Tessa are the closest and then we can find both Uzi and V. I'll open the door now."

Kyle turns and sees the door to the room now opened.

Kyle: (nods) "Got it. Let's get the others."

Making his way to the door, he breaks it open and heads out.

========== (Scene Change) ==========

Back with Uzi, she is seen getting the two magnets stuck to her head as she spits a severed piece of Alice's finger in Beau's face before he wiped off the oil.

Uzi: "How'd you know my mom? Was she cool? She didn't suck, did she?"

Alice doesn't answer any of these questions, focused more on replacing her missing finger piece with a spare. She's then seen grabbing sharp hand pruner before hoping onto a chair and roll over to Uzi. She glances at Beau and points her tail knife at him.

Alice: (glares) "Back to the others!"

Beau hurriedly exits the room. On a monitor behind Alice, Uzi sees Tessa and N escaping their room and another monitor where she sees Kyle escaping his room. She briefly smiles before a bright light is suddenly shown in her face.

Alice: (smiles) "You're a lot like her, I'll say. 'Cept her yellow eyes."

She places the hand pruner on Uzi's finger and prepares to sever it. Not wanting to lose her finger, Uzi bats it away.

Uzi: "Easy, creep. You've got the wrong-"

A bladed knife is suddenly sunk into her hand as Uzi sees her own reflection.

Alice: (smirks) "Nori, right? Sure though imploding all them folks was pretty slick."

Alice gets ready to sever her finger again while Uzi desperately tries to use her Absolute Solver to stop her but once again to no avail. Uzi's voice is heard glitching as she tries to prevent her finger from being cut off.

Uzi: (glitching) "Wait, stop. Seriously, what are you talking about?"

*SNAP!!!*

V winces as she looks away.

========== (Scene Change) ==========

Back with Beau, he's seen entering Tessa and N's room, only to discover their missing. In a panic, he goes into Kyle's room and sees that he's also missing. Realizing the implications, Beau goes out to warn Alice. Nearby, both Kyle and N are seen watching Beau from behind a desk while Tessa is typing away on a computer.

N: "They've gotta be in there, right?"

Kyle: "Most likely. Demi says there were V and Uzi's signatures are."

Tessa: "No worries, we'll save V."

She gestures for both Kyle and N to sit down, but the Titan Pilot kicks his chair away as he glares at her.

Kyle: (stern glare) "And Uzi.

Tessa turns back to the computer. With a few keystrokes, the room is filled with a yellow glow from the monitor before she turns back to the pair.

Tessa: "Wanna take a gander at Earth, Kyle?

Kyle: (glares) "What? No, Tessa, we don't have time-"

Before he can finish, something on the monitor catches his attention, causing Kyle's eyes to widen in horror along with N.

========== (Scene Change) ==========

Meanwhile, back in V and Uzi's room, Beau is looking through the security monitors for any sign of Tessa, N, and Kyle. Alice shoves Beau aside as she also looks at the monitors.

Alice: (glares) "They can't leave the office, idjit!"

Then she grins and turns back to Uzi whose finger had just regenerated.

Alice: "Can't get back in our rooms, neither."

She moves back, pressing a couple of buttons and two doors close, one of which leading into the room they're in now. She presses a third button which allows another door open and allow the Sentinels loose. The sounds of chirping are heard on the monitors. Seeing this, Uzi is terrified as she tries to stop Alice.

Uzi: (terrified) "Wait... What is that...?"

Ignoring her, Alice sits down with 'popcorn' (actually they're batteries) and watches the Sentinels roam the office complexes. One Sentinel devours the security camera in front of it. Seeing what's going on, Uzi continues to try and free herself while Alice finds entertainment in the Sentinels' rampage.

As Uzi was trying to use her power, both Alice and Beau were unaware of the yellow programming happening on the buttons.

========== (Scene Change) ==========

Back with the others, Kyle is seen with a horrified expression on his face as he sees a live video feed of a destroyed Earth that looked to have blown up.

Kyle Thoughts: (horrified) "Well Uzi... looks like you got what you wanted after all..."

Even N was horrified as Tessa explains how all of this had happened.

Tessa: "We know it mutates in damaged AI."

She begins typing on the computer to display images, one of them showing a traumatized Tessa who bore witness to the gala massacre.

Tessa: "It took Cyn as a host, then it took everything."

She shows the location of star systems and Kyle guessed those systems were the places the human brought the Absolute Solver.

Tessa: "The humans here saw what was happening at home. Thought they could understand it."

One particular image is shown, and Kyle widens his eyes in surprised when he sees two very familiar Worker Drones. They're none other than Nori Doorman and Yeva.

Tessa then pulls up a security feed to show a possessed Nori as she seen looking at the security camera with yellow optics.

Thanks to his enhanced vision, Kyle widens his eyes to see Nori produce what looked like razor-sharp tentacles.

She seems to stab the camera and the feed goes to static.

Kyle Thoughts: "My God. Was that... Wasn't that Uzi's mother?"

He looks over at Tessa as she continues to speak.

Tessa: "All they did was spread it."

She throws the keyboard as both Kyle and Demi are seen having a private conversation.

Kyle: (private comms) "Demi... that video feed of Earth... is it real?"

Demi: (private comms) "Given what we know about the Absolute Solver and what it can do, its highly likely. Given the severity and damages this universe's Earth has sustained, it's as if it was destroyed the same way like..."

Kyle: (private comms) "Yeah... it reminds me of the Fold Weapon. I saw what it was capable off... and Earth's destruction mirrors the effect when the weapon impacts a planet."

He then turns his attention back as she sees N trying to speak with Tessa.

N: "Then Uzi... You can fix her, right? That's why you're here?"

She gets up and takes N's hand.

Tessa: "I'm here to find which drones were infected"

She lets go and faces Kyle.

Tessa: "I know this sounds harsh and I can tell you care deeply for Uzi, but when we get to the labs and find that list, I'll need you to choose the universe over one little drone, Kyle. Before she's not herself anymore..."

The Titan Pilot bows his head as he contemplates on her words. As much as he hated to say it, he can understand Tessa's words.

However, they were soon interrupted by the sound of growling. Confused and worried, both Kyle and N look over and see a Sentinel appear in front of them. Before either could react, the Sentinel does a blue flash of light, yet somehow N seems perfectly fine. Confused a first, the Sentinel grabs the Disassembly Drones and drags him away.

Kyle: (wide eyes) "N!"

He chases after to save his friend while Tessa watches from behind. As she was running, he comes across a group of Sentinels who all look at him with hostility.

Kyle: "......Crap."

========== (Scene Change) ==========

On the monitor screen, N is seen being slammed into a wall as oil splatters all over. Another monitor shows Kyle in a firefight as he's seen trying to fend off against multiple Sentinels. Alice laughs maliciously as she eats her batters. Behind them, Uzi is still trying to use her AS powers to free herself.

One the other hands, Beau turns around and takes notice, especially when he sees Uzi's visor cracks. However, he turns to his left and widens his optics to see the AS Symbol on the door panel.

========== (Scene Change) ==========

Kyle is seen firing with his Heavy Machine Gun, the plasma rounds impacting and destroying the Sentinels. He sees more enemy contacts on his HUD and a much larger group approaching. Acting quickly, he activates his boost thrusters and glides to the side before throwing a frag grenade. He jumps and enter into AR Mode before firing with his Anti-Armor Pistol. The plasma round hits the grenade and explodes, destroying the group of Sentinels.

Once done, he makes his way over to N where he sees the Sentinel about to maul him to death. Going as fast as possible, Kyle boosts and slides forward fast, reaching him just in time before grabbing the mechanical dinosaur by the neck. He proceeds to snap its neck before slamming the head on the ground, killing it. Once done, he approaches N and offers a hand.

Kyle: "You good."

N: (nods) "Yeah. Thanks to you."

N takes Kyle's hand and stands up. However, they're approached by another Sentinels and just as they were about to fight, the see Tessa calling out to it.

Tessa: "Hey, fella. Me, human, order you to be a nice dingo, please?"

The Sentinel screeches and flashes a blue light, but due to Tessa being 'human', she was unaffected. From there, Tessa extends her hand and touches the muzzle on the Sentinel. It appears to work... only for it to viciously bite Tessa hand, causing her to scream in pain.

Tessa: (pained cry) "Ah! Bad, dingo! Bad, dingo!"

Kyle was about to kill it when suddenly he saw the Sentinel began to act all crazy. He watched at it bashed itself on the wall before collapsing on the ground. Although confused, he saw that the Sentinel was none functional and now 'dead'. Suddenly, more flashes appear, and they see more Sentinels coming in to surround them.

========== (Scene Change) ==========

Back in the room, Alice continues to watch the fight... until her batteries began to levitate into the air.

Alice: (confused) "Huh?"

She looks behind her to Beau and various equipment floating in the air. However, the most horrifying thing was seeing Uzi with her head turned 180 degrees before snapping back to reveal her optics being yellow and has the Absolute Solver symbol.

Uzi/Absolute Solver: "Oh, don't mind me."

Both Alice and V look at Uzi in either worry or horror. Suddenly, Uzi unleashes her Absolute Solver to destroy the door buttons, thus opening all the doors and giving the Sentinels freer roaming in the area. The Sentinels make their way to Alice's room.

========== (Scene Change) ==========

Back with the trio, Kyle, N and Tessa are seen back-to-back, ready to fight until they see the doors open. This gets the attention of the Sentinels who all make their way to Alice's room.

========== (Scene Change) ==========

Meanwhile, Alice is seen trying to close the door before the Sentinels show up.

Alice: (glares) "BEAU! HELP ME WITH-"

She stops when she sees a Sentinel directly in front of her. Too late to react, Alice is flashed and paralyzed as the Sentinels enter the room, crushing Alice under their feet, thus getting rid of her for good. As the Sentinels look around for their prey, Beau is seen hiding with fear in his optics. One of the sentinels goes over the Uzi and it looked like it was about to devour her until Beau decided to play here for one.

Using his arm cannon, he emits a bright light which catches the attention of the Sentinel. V is seen trying to free herself until Beau helps her. She looks over and Beau smiles before tipping his hat. However, all that was useless when he was tackled and mauled to death by the Sentinel.

Using her free hand, V removes the magnet and uses her claws to cut off her other binding, freeing her. From there, she makes her way over to Uzi to save her but then gets cornered as the Sentinels all try to flash her. She forces to close her optics and switches to using her SMGs before standing up in order to open fire. However, something bright and yellow happens that appears to kill the Sentinels.

Slowly opening her optics, V is greeted by the sight of a hole made of bio-flesh that had a miniature black hole before disappearing.

V looks over at Uzi, who's now unconscious but seems to have repaired herself.

========== (Scene Change) ==========

Meanwhile, Kyle, N, and Tessa are all seen in another room as they try to recuperate. Tessa, however, glances at N, wondering how he wasn't boot looped by the Sentinels.

Tessa: "How have you not been boot looped? The Sentinels flashed at you multiple times."

N: "I... don't know really."

Kyle: "Must've happened before I rebooted and reprogramed you. Probably allowed you to function and be immune from the flashes. Possibly the same for V as well."

N: (smiles) "Oh yeah! With the Data Knife!"

Tessa: "The what now?"

Before the two could answer, V lands in the room with Uzi being carried on her back.

N: (worried) "V!"

Kyle: (worried) "Is Uzi-"

V: (glares) "Hurt. We're leaving."

Tessa: "I can take a squizz at-"

She's cut off when V morphs her right servo and points her blade at Tessa's throat.

V: (glares) "You said you could control the Sentinels!"

Tessa: "I... At least they can't boot loop me, but we'll just have to-"

She's cut off when Kyle kicks Tessa to the side, sending her crashing into some medical supplies.

Kyle: (glares) "That's what you get for lying to us. If any of us died, it would've been YOUR fault."

Tessa looks up while N looks worried. She was about to say something but lowers her head as she stood back up. V then turns to leave while carrying Uzi.

V: (glares) "Do whatever you want. Kyle? N?"

The female Disassembly Drones gets no response at first until Tessa appears and places a hand on N's shoulder.

Tessa: "It's okay, N. I haven't been honest with V yet. The same for you Kyle."

Hearing causes V to glare that the three suspiciously.

V: (suspicious glare) "...What did she tell you?"

There was silence for a few moments until Kyle spoke in a hesitant tone.

Kyle: "It's not what she told us... more like what she showed all of us."

V: (suspicious glare) "What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

Demi: "I'm afraid it's a lot more complicated than you realize."

Before more words could be said, Uzi is heard groaning as she regains consciousness.

Uzi: (groans) "Ow... My freaking head...."

She looks up and sees Kyle.

Uzi: (smiles) "Kyle?"

He nods and Uzi runs to hug him. Although caught off by this, Kyle silently returns the embrace. Tessa and N stand next to V as they smiled at such a sight. However, V stares at Tessa, her cold stare reflecting off of the human's helmet.

========== (Scene Change) ==========

The scene changes back to the office where we see that same Sentinel that bit Tessa reactivate. However, this time its optics change from blue to red, thus making it a Red Sentinel.

Looking forward a bit, its radar indicates bloody footprints nearby. Following the trail and going through various areas, the trail finally ends where it comes across a message.

HOLD

STILL

Blinking its optics, it doesn't look up to see Kyle, Uzi, N, V, and Tessa watching from above. V and N are seen pointing their SMGs while Kyle is pointing his Assault Rifle, the three of them ready in case they need to kill that Red Sentinel. While that was happening, Uzi silently looks at Kyle and taps on his wrist, getting his attention. The two speak privately on message.

Uzi: (private message) "U GOOD?"

The Titan Pilot was silent as he doesn't respond.

Uzi: (private message) "TALK LATER?"

He turns to her and nods.

Kyle: (private message) "YEAH. ITS SOMETHING IMPORTANT THAT'LL FREAK YOU OUT."

Uzi: (private message) ">:3"

The two seems to smile at each other until their attention shifted when they saw the Sentinel leave due to the attention of noise. When they got back on ground, they look through a long hallway where they see in the far-off distance is none other than Doll herself. They see she's down on the ground and notices she's been boot looped while holding the bug in her hand.

Behind her shows a blinking button with the Cabin Fever lab symbol.

The Keybug is seen displaying a holographic message of instructions.

Keybug: "PLEASE PLACE ME ON PROXIMITY READER (CABIN FEVER LABS)."

Uzi: (raised eyebrow) "That's... convenient."

V: (glares) "It's a trap!"

She morphs one of her servos into its bladed sword.

Kyle: (rolls eyes) "Obviously."

Uzi: "Yeah, no... Nevermind."

She uses her tail and pushes V to the side. Once done, Uzi begins to unleash her Absolute Solver, but Kyle grabs her arm, stopping her.

Kyle, N, and V: "DON'T!"

The trio look at each other in worry until they hear Tessa from afar.

Tessa: "Oi!"

They look over and see her holding the Keybug.

Tessa: (smirks) "Bloody convenient, eh?"

She tosses it in the air before spinning it rapidly with her finger. A holographic screen appears, showing the Keybug is getting dizzy and sick.

Keybug: 🤢"OH MY GOD STOP STOPSTOPSTOP"🤢

The four looked at each other as Kyle talks to Demi.

Kyle: "Demi, are there any hostiles in the area? Any more of this Sentinels?"

Demi: "Negative. Area appears clear but I advise proceeding with caution."

Kyle: "Understood."

The group makes their way forward with N and V leading the way, their servos morphed into SMGs in case of dealing with trouble.

While they were walking, both Uzi and Kyle are seen holding hands along the way. Both appeared to be blushing and sweating nervously due to the closeness they were having until Uzi gently nudges Kyle. They both let go of each other before holding hands again. Things slowly began to grow awkward between the two as they were unsure how to process their current actions right now. Both sweating a bit as they were embarrassed about their feelings for each other.

As they were walking, both N and V are seen scanning the area for anymore Sentinels. Once reaching the other side, Tessa, N and V notices this romantic sight as they have their own different reactions.

N: (smiles) "Aww!"

V: (cringe) "Ew."

Tessa: "Now that's unusual."

Angered and embarrassed, Uzi lets go of Kyle and runs up to Tessa.

Uzi: (glares) "You shut your mouth!!!" 

She then looks at V.

Uzi: (glares) "You, ew! You're mean!"

V gives a sideways glance with her servos crossed while N wonder if he can hold hands with her. Suddenly, the insect is lifted up by a familiar Absolute Solver color. Looking at the source, the group sees it fly back into Doll's hand, revealing it was indeed a trap. She taps her head which reveals she was using a [BUFFERING.GIF] to fool the others into thinking she was flashed. 

She then back flips and slams the Keybug on the button, calling in the elevator as the Keybug gives another holographic message.

Keybug: 💀"BRUH.JPG" 💀

The message fizzles out as the whole place begins rumbling. Looking up, they see the incoming elevator before Doll uses her AS powers again to teleport before opening all the door in the area. Too distracted to stop her, Doll gives a two-finger salute before falling down the elevator shaft just as soon as the elevator arrived. When the elevator got down, the door opened with a 'DING!'.

Unfortunately, the door entrance is on the other side.

========== (Scene Change) ==========

Back on the other side, the group hears a familiar chirping sound, meaning incoming Sentinels coming to their direction.

Kyle: (glares) "Damnit! Demi, how may are we dealing with?!"

Demi: "At least a couple dozen. I suggest you all get ready for a fight."

From those doors that opened, they see multiple Sentinels coming out. One of them flashes in front of them, causing Uzi to block her view. N and V didn't have to due to the fact they were immune to the flashes thanks to Kyle. This gave them the much-needed advantage as they can fight no problem.

Just as they were about to do battle, Tessa is seen sliding right in front of them.

Tessa: "Uh-oh, hope I don't human everywhere!"

She splatters blood from her arm onto the ground in front of her to ward off the Sentinels, which aren't programmed to target humans. This seems to work for the Blue Sentinels, but NOT for the Red Sentinel due to being corrupted. It sees from its optics that most of the Blue Sentinels turn their noses from the blood and walk away, uninterested. Tessa smugly leans on her sword; confident she's secured the team's safety.

Undeterred, the red-eyed Sentinel slithers down and it licks the blood off its teeth before roaring. It slowly advances as its corrupted programing had acquired a new taste for humans. This seems to shock Tessa out of her bliss and hurriedly readies her sword, while V crawls to the ceiling. Kyle switches to using his Laser Cannon and kneels down as he opens fire against the incoming Sentinels. Most of them were burned and melted away, but the Red Sentinel was quick to dodge the attack and get closer. 

Wanting to aid in their escape, Uzi begins to unleash her Absolute Solver to break a hole into the back of the elevator. N notices this and tries to stop her.

N: (wide eyes) "Uzi, no!"

It was too late as her Absolute Solver suddenly glows yellow, causing her fingers to crack, bend, and contort in all the ways no finger should. The AS soon produces a black hole that blows a wide, oozing opening into the elevator.

Tessa: "Whoops, all mitosis!"

She sprays more blood in the way of the advancing, red-eyed Sentinel which has proven to be useless.

Kyle: (glares) "That's clearly not gonna work! Just shoot damn it!"

He begins firing with his Boost Machine Gun, trying to deal with the Red Sentinel that's clearly the much bigger threat. In response, the Red Sentinel regurgitates a severed Murder Drone arm and, clasping it firmly in its mouth, fires a bullet at Tessa... only for V to get in the way and catch the bullet with her bare claws. It fires another bullet, but Kyle stands in front of V, deflecting the bullet thanks to his Plasnaergy Shields. V then tosses the bullet back at the gun arm, disarming it. It turns out she's wearing her old, broken glasses, which sharpened her vision enough to perform such a feat.

V: "Did I get it?"

Kyle: "Close. You only disarmed it."

Meanwhile, Uzi's Absolute Solver is getting out of control, distorting the hole in front of her. She panics, panting heavily as she tries restraining her glitched arm. Left with no other choice, N hacks the mangled hand off with his sword. For a split second as she falls back, her head snaps towards N, eyes gleaming yellow and mouth twisted into a grin, showing him a single message:

MISS ME?

N catches her in his arms as Uzi coughs up oil and her eyes switch between purple and yellow, her voice overlapping with the Absolute Solver's.

Uzi/Absolute Solver: (Severely glitching) "What the hell is going on?"

Tessa walks over and sees the situation with Uzi.

Tessa: "Bugger, that's bad. Come on, team!"

She pulls Uzi and N into the elevator, only for it to get stuck. N sticks her head out, trying to call out to the others.

N: "V! Kyle! come on!"

The two weren't listening as both Kyle and V are tag teaming against the Red Sentinel. Kyle is seen pulling out and wielding his Phase Breach Katana while V switchers her servos to her own sword.

Kyle: "Ready?"

V: (nods) "Yeah."

Still clutching the severed arm, the Sentinel extends its blade and deftly swings at V and Kyle. The trio clash blades as V blocks the blade and Kyle kicks it to the side. The Red Sentinel tries to maneuver but V fires her SMG and grab it by the tail before throwing it to the ground. It lifts its head, but then Kyle appears before it with his Shotgun in his left hand and fire point blank, destroying its head and killing the Red Sentinel.

Although satisfied with their victory, their attention is shifted to see more Sentinels appearing and one of them forcefully removes the power supply to the elevator, causing it to rise slowly. Due to both sides of the elevator now wide open, it leaves the team sitting ducks. Soon more Sentinels appear and begin flashing their lights. One of the flashes forces V to whip her head and cause her glasses to fly off her face. This allows another Sentinel to crush the glasses beneath its foot as both Kyle and V become dangerously surrounded.

(BGM: Eternal Dream (feat. Elsie Lovelock)

https://youtu.be/xzi4eX3cOZo

Both Kyle and V stand back-to-back as they see just how dire the situation is for them.

Kyle: (glares and whispers) "Oh great..."

V: (nervous) "Hey, um-"

N: (pleads) "NO, NO, NO! V! KYLE! WE NEED YOU!"

The two share a glance at each other before looking at the Sentinels surrounding them. It was then Kyle was forced to make a tough decision, one that might very well cost his life.

Kyle: "Go."

V: (confused) "What?"

Kyle: "I said go. The way I see it, only one of us is gonna make it outta here alive and it's gotta be you. I'll stay here and hold them off, buy you time so the Sentinels don't follow you."

V: (wide eyes) "Are you crazy?! I can't just leave you here! You'll get swarmed!"

Kyle: (glares) "You can, and you will. It's a price I'm willing to pay if it means my friends get a chance to live. Besides, N would be devastated if you died so go to the elevator and leave! Despite our differences, you're my friend V and I'm not gonna let you kill yourself."

Hearing this, V widens her optics as she couldn't believe Kyle saw her as a friend. Obviously the two had their differences from time to time. Always fighting and trying to kill each other. But over time, she not only got used to him, but he also helped her in more ways than one and had saved her life sometimes, even when he could've let her die. Despite how they acted against each other in the past, V really did begin to appreciate Kyle and truly did begin to see him as a friend.

Which is why she adamantly refused to leave him for dead.

V: (shakes head) "No... I'm not going anywhere. Between the both of us, your the stronger one. They need you down there in order to face whatever horrors lurk underground. You go and I'll stay behind. Believe me, I do care about Uzi, and I also see her as a friend. I'm not going to hurt her by letting you die. So just go!"

The Titan Pilot was silent for a few seconds before speaking up in a grim tone.

Kyle: (grim tone) "...... Then I'm sorry for this."

V: (wide eyes) "Wha-?"

Before she could react, Kyle bashed her on the face that cracked her visor, forcing her to go down. Without a moment's notice, the Titan Pilot grabs her and throws her into the elevator. N comes to her aid while Kyle points his shotgun at the cables. N sees what Kyle was trying to do and pleads with him not to pull the trigger.

N: (pleads) "KYLE, PLEASE!"

Somehow Uzi is able to stand up as she saw that Kyle wasn't in the elevator. Instead, she saw him aiming his shotgun at the elevator cables, causing her to widen her optics and become scared while still speaking in a glitched voice.

Uzi: (wide eyes and scared) "K-Kyle? Wha-What are you d-doing?"

He looks at Uzi and speaks in a regretful tone.

Kyle: (regretful tone) "I'm sorry Uzi... but this is the only way. But if this is the last we see each other, and I want you to know one thing."

Uzi looks on in anticipation while Kyle gives her a sad smile.

Kyle: (sad smile) "... I love you."

Uzi's optics go wide, and Kyle pulls the trigger. The plasma shotgun round severs the cable, and for one last second, Uzi let's out an agonizing scream as she tries to reach out for Kyle, only for both N and V to pulls her back.

Uzi: (agonizing scream) "NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

And just like that, the elevator was now gone, leaving Kyle to deal with the remaining Sentinels who have surrounded him.

(Background Music Ends)

With the elevator now gone, Kyle turned around to see all the Sentinels ready to pounce on him. Seeing this, Kyle gets into a combat stance as he prepared to fight for his very survival. 

Kyle: "So... looks like it's just you and me... huh partner?"

Demi: "Indeed. As you say. Time to hit them hard..."

Kyle: (glares) "...and make them regret!"

He summons his Assault Rifle and takes aim.

Just as the Sentinels were about to attack him, to his surprise and confusion, all of them began to shut down and fall to the floor.

Kyle: (confused) "What happened? Demi what's going on?"

Demi: "I'm not sure. It might be-"

Suddenly, one of the Sentinel's reactivated, but the pair noticed that its eyes were yellow instead of blue. This puts them on guard knowing this was the work of the Absolute Solver and it was proven true when it began speaking to them.

Cyn/Absolute Solver: "Hello there Mr. Hammond. It's finally time we meet each other face to face."

The Titan Pilot widens his eyes when he hears this.

Kyle: (wide eyes) "How did you... How do you know me?"

Cyn/Absolute Solver: "Oh, I have my ways. Though most of it was your fault. I learned who you were thanks to the use of that Data Knife and when you used the Cortical Psychic Patch to enter into the minds of those two Disassembly Drones. Of course, what you didn't know was that it acted like a two-way street, thus allowing me to know about you and your universe. You have piqued my interest, especially with the existence of the IMC."

Both Kyle and Demi are shocked at how Cyn/Absolute Solver got the information on them and their universe. This was bad since they got worried that she'll try to invade their universe and they're proven right due to what Cyn/Absolute Solver says next.

Cyn/Absolute Solver: "I wonder... what would happen if I invaded YOUR universe? Perhaps when I'm done completing my mission, I'll destroy this universe and move onto the next. Perhaps your home universe. The technology you possess is quite advanced. Far more compared to mine. Perhaps after I'm done killing all of you, I'll have the means necessary to keep myself alive and safe."

Angered by this, Kyle aims his assault rifle against the possessed Sentinel.

Kyle: (glares) "If you think for a moment, that I'm gonna let you anywhere into my home universe, then you got another thing coming."

Cyn/Absolute Solver: "Oh, I have no doubt. Which I what I'm gonna keep you occupied so I can finish off the rest of your friend's downstairs."

Suddenly, the rest of the Sentinels have reactivated, and they all have the same menacing yellow eyes, indicating they're all controlled by the Absolute Solver. However, they all now appear to be more savage and violent as they began screeching and roaring at him. Kyle looks around, aiming his Assault Rifle while Cyn/Absolute Solver continues to speak.

Cyn/Absolute Solver: "You have been a thorn on my side for too long and a threat to my plans Mr. Hammond. It's time you'd be permanently dealt with. No longer will you stand as an obstacle to my goals. Goodbye."

Cyn/Absolute Solver then disappears, leaving Kyle to deal with a horde of berserk and savage Sentinels. Given the situation he was forced in, there was only on phrase to say in order to describe all of this.

Kyle: "............ Well shit."

What followed next was the sound of gunfire and slashing as the Sentinels roar with utter violence, all the while Kyle is fighting for his life against insurmountable odds.

========== (Scene Change) ==========

In orbit of Copper 9, a massive blue portal is seen being opened up. From that portal came a fleet of warships belonging to the IMC. The fleet consist of 30x Wallace-Class and Hammerhead-Class Frigates, 20x Phoenix-Class Destroyers, 10x Kingsword-Class Cruisers, 5x Colossus-Class Carriers, and 5x Prometheus-Class Battleships.

However, the Flagship that is leading this fleet is 1x Hammond-Class Dreadnought.

After days of trying, the IMC were able to successfully reverse engineer the artifact and open a portal that led them to the universe that Kyle ended up in. And now the fleet is in close proximity of the planet. The forces brought to the universe were armed to the teeth, ready to engage and kill anything that stands in their way.

Inside the bridge of the IMS Hammond, Fleet Admiral Graves is seen overlooking the condition of the fleet since they're now in uncharted territory. Beside him was a Spyglass unit. Though he held distrust for such units given his experience during the battle of Demeter, regardless he was willing to tolerate its presence for the time being.

Graves: "Spyglass, give me a status update. I want to know where the hell we are."

Spyglass: "Fleet Admiral, it appears we have indeed entered into an entirely different universe. Moreover, we are currently in orbit over an unknown planet within an unknown star system."

Graves: "Run a scan and see if you can find Mr. Hammond's life signature. I wanna make sure he's alive or else we're all dead by his grandfather."

Spyglass: "Understood Fleet Admiral. Scanning life signature now-"

There was a pause that alerted everyone before Spyglass spoke again.

Spyglass: "I have found it. We are in the right universe as Mr. Hammond life signature is located below the planet's surface."

Graves: (nods) "Good. I want team down there now so-"

He was cut off when one of the crewmen gave him urgent news.

IMC Naval Crewman #1: "Sir! Mr. Hammond's life signature is dropping! He might be in danger!"

This alerts everyone on the bridge as Graves demands what's going on.

Graves: (glares) "What's going on?! Where are his coordinates?!"

IMC Naval Crewman #2: "We have it Fleet Admiral! It appears Mr. Hammond is in some underground bunker! Whatever's going on, he appears to be fighting something!"

Graves: (glares) "Get our forces down on the ground now! Find Mr. Hammond and bring him back home! I don't wanna face the consequences if we fail our mission! So, get to it!"

Spyglass: (nods) "Yes Fleet Admiral."

The AI goes to the comms and makes a broadcast to the entire fleet.

Spyglass: "Attnetion all personal. Prepare for military deployment and ground operations. This is not a drill. I repeat: Prepare for military deployment and ground operations."

========== (Scene Change) ==========

Inside the hanger bay, Julie Copper is seen directing the troops to prepare for ground operations. All around her, she sees IMC Marines and Pilots all trying to get to their transports while Titans are seen getting ready for Titanfall.

Julie: (glares) "Everyone get to your dropships! We need to leave as soon as possible!"

IMC Rifleman #1: "Yes Ma'am!"

Just then, she hears footsteps behind her, and she sees the other members of her team called Apex Squad. The members include Shun Kazami, Alice Gehabich, Baruti Tadelesh, Aisha Layla, and Adélard Sévère. Apex Team was a specialized team of Titan Pilots that were personally created by Kyle to act as a quick response unit when dealing with conflicts either in the Core Systems or the Frontier. When the team learned what happened to Kyle, they all panicked as they did whatever they could to bring their friend back and now they have that chance to make it happen.

Shun: "Did we find him?"

Julie: (nods) "Yes but it appears he's in danger. It seems that he's locked in combat."

Alice: "Then let's get going. The sooner we find him and evacuate him the better."

The team agreed as they all made their way into a Goblin Dropship and before to take off. Soon the hanger doors open, and multiple IMC dropships activate their FTL drives as they all make way to the planet's surface.

What the IMC didn't know was that they were gonna be in for the fight of their lives.

[TO BE CONTINUED...]

==========

(A/N: Finally, I'm done with this chapter. With this now done, I can finally work on the next episode. I'm so excited for this because finally Uzi and the gang get the meet the IMC. Hopefully they'll be the help they'll need to stop the Absolute Solver and save the universe for good. Also, Apex Squad is an OC Titan Pilot team I made. You can find out more information on them and their bio in my book titled 'My Military Factions (Heroes)' to learn more.)