BLACK
"Though the past cannot be changed, we must strive for a better tomorrow."
The shattered moon shone brightly that night, illuminating the entire forest, creating a scene both majestic and almost ominous. Silence prevailed, barely interrupted by the occasional night breeze whispering through the branches and red canopies of the trees, plucking a few leaves that fell gently to the ground, creating a red carpet throughout the forest.
Nature was in harmony until the roar of a train engine broke the serenity. The sharp blast of the train's horn, followed by the screeching of wheels on the tracks that ran above the forest, shattered the peacefulness completely. The front lights of the train illuminated its path, but not everything it left behind.
From a nearby hillside, two figures made an Olympic-scale leap and landed on one of the rear carriages. Both figures drove their swords into the roof to keep their balance, unaware that inside, a stowaway lay hidden.
On top of some crates, using them as an improvised bed, a figure lay back with hands behind his head, functioning as a pillow, and legs crossed. His features were hidden in the absolute darkness of the carriage, only illuminated by a faint green glow emanating from the watch strapped to his left wrist.
This stowaway saw the weapons being withdrawn and then heard hurried footsteps clashing against the cold metal of the carriage. In one swift motion, he stood up, stretched his arms, and then touched the watch on his wrist.
"Let's see what this is about."
The hatch on the roof of one of the carriages swung open, allowing the moonlight to flood the interior, revealing a scene bathed in its silvery glow. Within seconds, two figures dropped inside. A tall boy and a girl, both wielding weapons in their hands.
The boy stood tall with reddish-brown hair swept back as if wind-blown. His mask, a bronzed white with red accents, bore symbols resembling flames across its surface, with ear-like protrusions on either side. He wore a loose, long-sleeved jacket adorned with red designs, and a prominent emblem on the back depicting a white tulip covered by a red rose. His black pants and shoes with red soles completed his attire, along with black gloves bearing a red emblem on the right hand.
The girl sported a black buttoned vest with tails and a single silver button at the front, paired with a high-necked white sleeveless shirt underneath. Her white shorts featured front zippers on each leg, while her low-heeled black boots and wide stockings faded from black to purple at the ankles. She wore a loose black sleeve on her left arm with a silver bicep bracelet and black ribbons wrapped around her forearms. A small loose black scarf encircled her neck, and a gray magnetic backpack was concealed by her hair. At the top of her head, a black ribbon tied in a large bow completed her ninja-gal fusion look.
"It looks like we have to do this the hard way," the boy remarked.
"Don't be so dramatic," the girl retorted.
Both stood poised with their weapons, surveying the carriage now filled with humanoid robots emitting an ominous red glow from their chests and faces. The robots activated, raising their fists simultaneously and encircling the two youths.
"INTRUDERS. IDENTIFY YOURSELVES," commanded the robotic voice from the humanoid machine.
BANG
The boy's sword shot out like a projectile, hitting the android in the head, throwing it off balance and allowing the boy to attack. A first slash cut off its head, and a second diagonally sliced through its chest. The machine fell, and the other robots transformed their arms into swords, launching an attack.
Both youths moved with perfect coordination. Each of the boy's movements was precise, filled with strength and lethal precision. The girl's movements were faster and more fluid, evading attacks with acrobatic maneuvers and returning with impressive speed.
The masked swordsman faced off against three robots at once, his red sword cutting lethal arcs through the air that seemed to leave a red trail behind. He launched a series of rapid attacks, cutting and dismembering his enemies. The first robot lost an arm, then its head. The second tried to attack from behind, but he spun around and pierced its chest with a precise blow, finishing it off with the sheath of his sword, which transformed into a shotgun and pierced its chest. The third robot received a blow to its legs, falling before being executed with the crimson sword thrust into the back of its head.
The ninja girl with the black scarf slipped between the robots with astonishing agility. Her swift footwork allowed her to dodge blows while leaving clones behind to confuse the robots. Her attacks came from unexpected angles, difficult for a machine to block. A robot attacked her with an arm turned into a sword, but Blake ducked, letting the weapon pass over her head before counterattacking with a series of quick slashes that deactivated the android.
In the midst of her acrobatics, Blake noticed abnormal behavior in one of the attacking robots. Something had caught its left leg, something emerging from the cold metal floor. The robot's lights started to flicker, and its body convulsed. She was distracted just enough for another robot to punch her, sending her flying against a wall.
"Blake!" the boy shouted, cutting down the robot that dared to attack his companion and then turning to her, who was recovering.
"I'm fine!" she dodged a series of shots from the robots and threw her weapon like a small scythe, managing to embed it in the robot's head and then pulling it out with all her strength. She jumped onto another robot, using her low-heeled black boots to propel herself and cut down the robot from above.
The swordsman passed by her and made a leap, his body spinning in the air. With the momentum of the movement, he kicked a robot, which crashed through the door, allowing both of them to cross into the next carriage.
When they both crossed the threshold into the open air, the robot that Blake had seen began to move. Green lines ran across its entire body, and where its face was, a bright green circle opened up, with a gray device bearing a green hourglass symbol placed on its chest.
The two young fighters faced more of those androids. The swordsman cut through everything in his path, keeping his feet firmly planted on the train car, while the ninja girl was more acrobatic, leaping over the heads of the robots, shooting and slashing them with the sheath of her weapon.
The sound of energy blasts reached the girl's ears as she drove her weapon into the head of one of the robots, just in time to propel herself and avoid the wave of shots that ended up finishing off the robot she had attacked.
She turned to see what it was, only to come face-to-face with a robot different from the others. Whereas some were more robotic with visible mechanical parts and gears, this one appeared more stylized, with segmented pieces serving as armor, and the most striking feature being the lone circle on its face.
She didn't hesitate to attack it; after all, it was just another robot. But this robot was different. The blade of her sword met a thin energy blade emerging from the robot's wrist. That surprised her enough to let her guard down, and the robot punched her, sending her flying.
Some robots disregarded the girl and focused on the new robot, aiming their weapons at it.
"UNIDENTIFIED UNIT. ELIMINATE."
They started shooting at him, but the robot was faster. It charged boldly, generating a second energy sword on its other arm and managing to cut down two robots with swift spins.
It ended up facing the swordsman, who tried to strike it upon seeing it, but failed. The robot twisted its body, causing the red sword to spark as it grazed the mechanical armor.
"Watch out for that one!" Blake warned as she blocked an attack from a robot.
The boy did a series of quick and precise slashes with his sword, but the green robot dodged with unusual agility, responding with precise movements and effective counterattacks.
Both swords clashed, with the young swordsman's sword caught between the two of the robot's. They nearly clashed foreheads, earning grunts of anger from the boy.
Blake, who had managed to deal with the remaining androids, launched herself to help her partner, but the green robot noticed her stealthy attack. With a swift foot movement and using its superior strength, it managed to move the swordsman, putting him in the path of the girl's attack. Seeing this, she had to divert her strike, hitting the ground instead. Then, the robot kicked the boy with such force that it ended up taking Blake with him.
Ninja and Swordsman were thrown into the next carriage by that strange green robot. Both slid across the cold steel until they came to a stop and began to get up. They watched it enter walking, as if it were a direct envoy sent just to stop them, an almost unstoppable machine ready for combat.
The boy stood up and gripped his sword tightly, assuming an aggressive combat stance again.
"Set the charges."
"What? But what about the crew members?" she questioned.
"What about them?" the boy asked, annoyed.
The green robot had heard them; the circle of its face now had a different shape, the top forming a perfect V as if it were frowning. It took another step and then looked up. Blake was puzzled by this action and, wanting to know what distracted it, also looked up. Then she saw it—a machinery behemoth. Four legs gripping the ceiling, what she deduced were arms on the sides of its body, and what could only be missile launchers adorning its shoulders like pauldrons.
The green robot lunged forward and rolled on the ground to avoid being crushed by that mass of metal and circuits. The mechanical monstrosity loomed before them, its spider-like body painted with red sections giving it an ominous appearance. Without a word, it aimed its weapons at the three of them.
None had time to attack; they were attacked first. The green robot reacted and threw its fist against the ground, creating a holographic shield that managed to stop the energy projectiles launched by the giant robot.
"Adam!" Blake exclaimed, seeing her partner about to attack the green robot treacherously. "It helped us!"
"It also attacked us..." the boy gritted his teeth. Although he didn't like it, he was going to have to cooperate with that machine to stop the larger one. "Fine!"
The ninja nodded and seized the opportunity while the spider robot was distracted attacking the holographic shield. She ran along the side of the carriage, managing to reach the robot's head and delivered a strike, but her sword merely bounced off. Surprised by the hardness of the metallic armor, she fell to the ground, but before she could be attacked, Adam appeared, launching several successive strikes at the upper section of the robot, yet they had no effect either. When his attack ended and he fell to the ground to reposition himself, he received a kick from one of the machine's legs, sending him flying into several crates.
Blake, now separated from the spider robot, saw it raise its leg to try to crush her against the ground, but the green android appeared to rescue her. It grabbed her waist and propelled them forward, preventing both from being crushed.
They reached Adam, and the green robot released Blake, who looked at it in surprise, but her ears caught a strange sound, and she saw how the huge spider-like machine merged its arms and created a massive cannon aimed at them.
"We have to get out of here," she said anxiously, but it was too late—a powerful energy attack was launched towards them. Adam tried to block it with his sword, and the green robot fired a beam from its face with the same intention, but it was futile.
The three of them were thrown into the next carriage.
Blake shook her head and began to get up, only to see the spider robot already upon them once more.
"I will buy some time," both youths heard the synthetic male voice of the green machine. Blake was more than perplexed by that.
Then it engaged in combat, two energy swords, one in each arm. The green robot attacked forcefully, attempting to cut into the massive machine, barely succeeding. Brilliant cuts were left behind where the energy weapons crossed, but they were not enough to stop the mechanical behemoth.
"I'll help him," Blake joined the fight, and Adam stayed behind, his hand gripping the sword hilt firmly, starting to glow red as if channeling all his energy into the weapon.
Blake hurled her weapon, embedding it in the spider robot's forehead. Using the attached ribbon, she propelled herself into the air, rebounding off the mechanical behemoth's head to retrieve her weapon and fire a shot from above.
Simultaneously, the green machine launched precise strikes at the spider robot's legs, severing some cables and tubes that began releasing steam. The massive robot leaned on one leg and aimed a shot at Blake, but she threw her weapon again. The green robot caught it, pulling it out of harm's way.
She landed beside it, momentarily surprised by its unexpected aid, before refocusing on the fight. Together, they charged again, the green robot positioning itself in front of Blake, allowing her to use it as a platform to attack the spider robot's torso once more. Swift cuts landed, causing superficial damage. The green robot's shot managed to tear part of the armor from the spider robot's head. Despite this, it didn't fall and swung at the green robot, narrowly missing Blake, who retreated to Adam.
Her attention shifted to the green robot, which was sent flying towards them. She watched it rise from the ground and shake its head.
The mechanical behemoth then merged its arms again, the enormous energy cannon reappearing and firing.
"Move!" shouted Adam, and Blake retreated alongside the green robot.
The energy blast closed in fast, but this time, Adam was ready. Unsheathing his sword, he blocked and absorbed the attack. His entire body glowed red, witnessing the four-legged mechanical behemoth leaping towards him, intent on crushing him. Adam unsheathed all the accumulated energy in his sword at once, slicing through everything in front of him.
As his attack concluded, he breathed deeply while sheathing his sword, satisfied with his turned after dealing with the robotic behemoth, finding Blake staring intently at the green robot, which stood at the opposite end of the carriage, as if blocking their path.
"Adam..."
"We'll cut through it like the others."
Adam lunged into the attack, his red sword striking against the green energy blade of the robot. The two swords clashed, creating a shower of sparks. Adam pushed with all his might, but the green robot resisted with equal force, even pushing him back.
Seeing Adam in trouble, Blake joined the fray. With swift and precise movements, she attacked from the left flank. Her sword cut through the air gracefully, seeking an opening in the robot's defense. The green robot, however, anticipated her moves and swiftly blocked her attacks with its free hand, creating a small shield of energy.
Taking advantage of the moment when the robot was occupied with Blake, Adam attacked with a series of quick and powerful strikes. He managed to make a small dent in the robot's armor, but it responded by transforming its sword into an energy cannon and fired at point-blank range. Adam blocked with his sword, but was pushed back.
"I'll distract it," Adam charged again, and the swords clashed once more.
The green robot counterattacked, unleashing a series of strikes with its energy sword that forced Adam to block. Blake, using her agility, leaped onto the robot and tried to attack from above. The robot raised its arm to block the girl's sword, but she changed strategy at the last second and stepped on the arm. Using it as a platform, she propelled herself to spin in the air and landed behind it, swiftly running towards the next carriage.
"Blake!" Adam shouted as he saw her, but she only narrowed her eyes and increased her speed, jumping to the other side.
The green robot saw this and kicked Adam in the stomach, sending him flying backwards, then leaped across the gap towards Blake. Landing in the next carriage, with a precise slash of its energy sword, it severed the connection between the carriages. Adam could only watch, incredulous that his partner had left him like that.
The robot merely looked at him, then saw that section of the train recede and disappear around a curve.
Now only the girl remained. It turned, only to find Blake pointing her gun inches from its face. Unaware it was facing a conscious being, it looked at her cautiously and distrustfully. The android tried to move an arm, but she shot without hesitation. The bullet struck, shattering a good portion of the machine's face and causing it to lose balance. She didn't waste the opportunity and kicked it out of the carriage, sending it tumbling onto the train tracks, where it rolled for a few meters before coming to a stop.
She looked at it one last time before turning around and continuing towards the next carriage, unaware that the robot, or at least whatever had taken control of its body, was still alive.
An amorphous mass began to separate from the machine, its tar-like texture and metallic gleam giving it a sludge-like appearance, but soon it began to rise. A humanoid body with a green chest adorned with a device bearing the hourglass symbol formed, and its single eye, just a circle, looked towards the increasingly distant train. With resignation, it lowered its head and shoulders.
"Great, now I'll have to walk," its synthesized voice muttered in annoyance. It looked around for a few seconds before choosing a direction and starting to walk.