Ch. 1-3 Escape to Sherman High

Unknown Location

It had all happened so fast. Ilana had absolutely no idea what had happened. She didn't know where she was. At first she thought she blacked out, but then realized she was still very much aware. She couldn't see a thing. Couldn't hear a sound. It wasn't cold. It wasn't hot or stifling. There was no sensation at all. She wasn't dreaming, but she wasn't awake either. All she knew was that it was dark. Very dark. Pitched black and disturbingly silent. It was as if everything in her and around her had been turned off. She couldn't move, but she knew she wasn't restrained either. There was just a vague sense of weightlessness. Yet, it wasn't frightening.

"Where am I?" An unfamiliar voice suddenly echoed all around her. It rang with confusion and concern, and a trace of apprehension.

"Hello?" She called out. Or at least she thought she did. "Is someone there?"

"Who's there?" Male. The echoing voice she heard was that of a male. Young, but it wasn't a small child. "What is this?"

"Is everyone alright?" Octus's familiar voice rang all around as the other two presences tried to center themselves.

"I feel weird, but alright." The unidentified male answered honestly as he tried to make sense of what was going on. "And kinda stronger…?"

"Me too." Relieved that no one seemed to have been harmed by whatever just transpired, Ilana tried to pin-point exactly what was going on. "I feel sort of… disembodied." It was the only word that she could think of to describe the utter feeling of detachment surrounding her. "What happened?"

"I am not exactly sure." Octus stated as he analyzed the data he was receiving from the other two. "So much of my programming is new." If he was reading it correctly, then he was going to have to monitor the situation very carefully. "Apparently I banded subconsciously with the both of you."

"What?!" The unidentified male voice shouted in alarm. Clearly not at all pleased with their current situation.

"Is that possible?" Ilana asked, keeping herself as calm as she could so as to keep the unknown presence from panicking.

Whatever answer or theory could have been given was savagely interrupted when the Mega Beast attacked the colossal machine. The hit was felt through the void and through their very being. The unknown presence among them suddenly spurred to action. There was an enraged war-like cry, before the giant mechanical body retaliated. It immediately picked itself up and lunged at the beast as it swung an arm at them. An armored life forearm was thrown up and blocked the attempted strike before a right jab to the face sent the monster flying back effortlessly.

There was a pause before anyone recognized what had just happened. "Did… Did you do that?" Ilana asked almost gingerly.

"I think so." The voiced answered more resolute. "I know I wanted to."

"Correct, your thoughts caused the sym-bionic body to respond." Octus stated as he analyzed the reaction. "It is most-"

"Look out!" Ilana shouted in warning as the creature came back, and moved to bring up her shield. Only instead of the golden hard light that tended to surround her, a smaller, handheld, more portable shield appeared in each arm as she moved to block each hit. "Okay, I see how it works."

As the princess held off the creature with her shield, Octus chose that moment to activate a repulse wave. From the outside all anyone saw was glowing from some stripes that indicated the direction of the energy's path. It began from the head, down the neck and shoulders, across the arms, and finally collected at the shield. The giant shoved, the shield popped, the energy shout in the direction of the push and the fire beast was sent flying into a building that had managed to be evacuated in the struggle. Crowds of people on different rooftops, whom were watching from a much farther distance, cheered at the sight. The beast was being pushed back. It couldn't get past the new giant. Couldn't get any further into the city.

Then it got mad. Real mad.

The creature curled in on itself, increasing the intensity of its flames as it did so. It color could be seen changing from red and orange to yellow and white. Then it opened itself back up. The result was an apocalyptic size flash flare. It was as if it had been in an enclosed area and somebody just opened a door and allowed oxygen to enter, resulting in a massive flash flare. The inferno shot out in all directions, incinerating anything and everything in its path. Building, roads, sidewalks, cars, signs, trees, people… Even the air had been superheated to the point that nothing, Nothing, had been left behind. Nothing, but a scorched, hollowed out crater.

The blast radius expanded all around the monster for miles, stopping right at the very feet of the giant robot. With that display of power, the alien creature flared and stretched up into the air until it reached its highest peak. It began to bend and fall into an arch of pure fire and fury. It came down right on top of the giant robot and engulfed it completely in its unforgiving flames. Not only was the heat intense, there was also an immense pressure being placed all around!

"We can't take much more of this!" The unknown male voice cried out as the bombardment continued. It was like being repeatedly punched from all sides in rapid session without anyway to retaliate.

The princess had to agree. They were being attacked from all sides and the heat was increasing. "What do we do?!"

The creature had them in its grasp. The temperature was increasing rapidly. They needed something that could somehow dissipate it all at once. That was when they notice a glare coming off the bay. "The water!"

With this shared idea, all three consciousness caused the mechanized giant to lunge towards the bay. Being mindful of the many buildings still standing the large mechanical body flew in between the remaining skyscrapers and straight for the open ocean. The speed of which it flew caused the windows of every nearby building to shatter easily in its wake. Once the bay was in sight, it dived into the deep end where it would be completely submerged in the element.

Team Delta

It was at this exact moment that a dark hover plane made it was to the scene. G3 had been monitoring the entire battle while in route. Their agent in the field had been keeping them informed and up to date with a live video feed, sending sound and images of the creature's massive size, speed, and power. That was, until, all receiving data was suddenly cut off. Somewhere between fighting the monster and try to secure the aliens, the signal for the Magnus Armor just dropped from their radar. All attempts to make contact from their end failed and all methods of detecting the unique signature of the armor were equally unsuccessful.

Now they had to deal with yet another colossus appearing from Heaven only knows where. Without their eyes and ears on the scene they were going in blind with this new creature. At the very least the new one only seemed interested in the other monster and not on the fleeing citizens. However that massive explosion from the fire monster proved devastating. Miles of city blocks incinerated within seconds. Buildings, plants, animals, people… gone in the blink of an eye.

Solomon couldn't, wouldn't, let this stand any longer. "Wave motion cannon is at 80%, sir." An agent reported as they continued to track the energy readings for the weapon.

The Wave motion cannon was their latest and most powerful offensive weapon up to date. The brainchild of their greatest minds and the best of their engineers. Utilizing the most up to date solar thermal energy technology, their R&D department created the only known energy cannon that was self-generating. When fully charge the weapon was capable of shooting out a powerful blast of pure energy that, theoretically, should take out whatever it was aimed at in one shot. This will be first time they've ever had to use it, the ultimate test of its effectiveness, but with any luck it will get the job done.

"Still no sign of Agent Magnus." Another agent reported as yet another attempt at locating their fellow guardian failed.

This wasn't good. They had a possible downed agent somewhere in all that rubble, and communication seemed to be down. In spite of the immense destruction from the flame beast, there was still a chance the Magnus Armor managed to save its pilot. Yet without confirmation there was no guarantee and they couldn't send out a search party until they've dealt with the current threat. On top of that they still had no idea what this new giant was or what it wanted.

Which left Solomon with very little options. "Prepare to fire." He'll wait until the last possible moment and no longer.

Sherman Bay

Deep in the depth of the bay, the water around them was churning and bubbling violently from the immense heat. The three consciousness could feel the grip around their shared body weaken and slip. In that instant the robot's arms flung out and broke the hold, effectively knocking the dying fire creature off. Without the restraining weight holding them down, they maneuvered towards the surface. Soon enough the massive technological marvel rose from the depths and stood to it's full height among the steam.

Alone.

Through the eyes of their shared body, the three minds looked out and about upon the still surface of the bay. The thick steam blew away to reveal still water with only the glare of the sun reflecting off the surface. And nothing else. There were no other signs of the Mega Beast. No body. No sound. No more bubbling water or steam. Not even an obvious discoloration in the sea. Just nothing.

"Did we get it?" The unknown male questioned, not at all trusting the situation.

"Is it over?" Ilana asked almost immediately after. She has never been in actual combat of this magnitude before.

Then suddenly and without any form of warning, a huge black form appeared from behind the massive robot. One with enough mass to better affect its opponent's hard body. It grabbed at their mechanical body, pinning the arms of the robot to the mid section and rendering them useless. They were trapped.

Team Delta

Back on the hovercraft, Solomon couldn't believe his eyes. The monster was still alive. The water hadn't been enough to end it completely. No longer a living pillar of flame and fury, but a monster of pure volcanic rock. Somehow its alien biology allowed it to survive being drowned by its elemental opposite and instead solidified into an entirely new physiology. One that now seemed equally durable enough to capture its opponent. From the looks of it, it may even have the strength to destroy its rival.

"Wave motion cannon charged." An agent reported at last as the targeting systems locked onto the two aliens.

This was it. With the volcanic monster literally pinning the giant robot down, it was the perfect opportunity. Two birds. One shot. "Fire!" Solomon order as he leaned forward abruptly to bare witness. One way or another, this ends now.

Sherman Bay

The Mega Beast was still alive! Somehow instead of dispersing in the water, it solidified into a virtual living mountain. A mountain that was out for vengeance as it squeezed harder and harder in an attempt to crush the giant robot in half. Yet as it felt that the beast could win, a sudden blast of light, energy and force slammed into the angry mountain at full force. It tore away that the surface layer like a sandblaster, but otherwise didn't do any significant damage. However, it did caught the creature off guard and had it loosening its grip on the robot. Whom proceeded to break free from its hold completely.

"I need a weapon!" The male voice demanded as the impression of him glaring at the still standing creature could be felt.

"Focus." Ocuts stated as he synchronized with the unknown's desired thought patterns "I will interface with the replication systems to see if we can fabricate one."

Outside the colossal robot practically dabbed in so that its left arm was guarding it's chest region while the right was fully extended behind it. At the center of the palm, massive amounts of light and energy formed and warped into the shape of a hilt, from which a long blade grew. "It's working!"

"This is incredible." Illana stated as the Galalunian broadsword came into existence.

With a real weapon in hand, the giant spun low and slashed its opponent at the mid-section. The Magma Rock beast brought it arms down to strike only to have them sliced off cleanly. Without hesitation, the giant swung the blade up to build momentum before bringing it down to split the monster down the middle. Without its core to support it, the body simply broke apart and crumbled like so much eroded rock of a cliff side.

Team Delta

Back with Team Delta, the G3 agents were watching intensely for what the robot would do next. Although the giant had defeated the monster, there was no way for them to know what side this thing was on. For all they know, it was merely defeating a rival for the rite to conquer the Earth. All waited in tension until the giant released its grip on its weapon, thus allowing it to disappear back to wherever it came from.

It wasn't going to attack. It wasn't an enemy.

"Your orders, sir?" An agent asked as Solomon quickly went over their options.

It had disarmed itself once the threat was neutralized. It didn't want to fight anymore. It wasn't going back to the city. It wasn't interested in it. It merely stood there, as if waiting for something. What? Why? If they go near it now, would it see them as a threat? He would rather avoid another potential attack. The Wave Motion cannon will take time to recharge after that last blast.

"Fall back." Solomon ordered and settled back into his chair. "We'll wait and see." With that the hovercraft was set to submerge under the now calm waters. They will keep their distance until they gather more intel.

Sherman Bay

Illana almost couldn't believe it. They've won… They've actually won! Their first decisive battle against the Mutraddi and they won! This was incredible. "We did it."

"Who are you people?" The unknown male asked almost warily. Now that there was time to actually process what had happened, he was unsure of what to make of the fact that they were all sharing one body somehow.

"Unfortunately we not at liberty to say." Octus stated simply as he began to strategize their next course of action. It was going to be difficult enough to not only separate but also keep their identities secret from the unknown once they do. And that wasn't the only problem they had. "Earth forces are preparing to fire upon us." He reported as his systems picked up the U.S. radio chatter.

"What?!" The two organic mentalities thought loudly.

Sherman City

From the shore, General Steel had his heavily armed battalion lined up and aiming for the giant robot. When it became clear that firing on the enemy from a distance wasn't working, the general advanced his forces closer in order to maximize the potential damage they were hoping to inflict with their tanks. With the two monsters distracted by one another, it was easy enough to sneak into the city, however finding enough room to position his troops proved cumbersome.

Then the fire monster somehow exploded without actually exploding.

When General Steel had fought in his first war, he saw, first hand, the devastation that it wrought on both the land and the people that live in it. Since then he made a personal vow to never allow such conflict to ever touch his own country. His nation. His home. And now…

It was as like someone's twisted reenactment of the atom bomb in Japan.

And these aliens were to blame.

When the fire monster all but swallowed the robot, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to take them both out at once. All they had to do was surround the robot while it was burning and unleash the full force of their heavy guns. Then the blasted thing flew for the bay. As much as he wanted the alien freak to stand still and let them shoot it, he had to admit that that had been a good strategy. And a golden opportunity.

Steel advanced his forces towards the bay shore, determined to assemble what might be the largest firing range in history. Now that their little monster problem had been cut down to one, they could fire at will with the least amount of collateral damage. Yet even at their full speed, they weren't able to assemble when the robot reemerged from the bubbling depths. Fortunately, it had appeared too stunned to move, allowing them some time-

Then the fire monster came back. This time as a rock monster of all things! How in tar nation did something that was literally nothing but flames became solid when he literally saw that darn thing stretched and surround its opponent with such unnatural flexibility was beyond him. Still, he didn't have time to dwell on it. If the fates were going to give him time to set up his men then by gummit he was going to take advantage of it!

He had his tanks spreading out in both directions to claim the full length of the shore. Had each and every barrel locked and loaded, but held off on firing when a friggin beam of light shoot outta nowhere, hitting both monsters in the back. Although he couldn't be sure, he had a sinking feeling he knew where the attack came from. Solomon. It was the only thing that made any sense in this entire debacle. Yet even believing that, it had failed. The only thing that glorified light show did was allow the robot to break free and somehow, magically, summoned a dag-gum sword! The thing can actually create weapons out of thin air! And effective ones at that since it literally made gravel outta a living mountain. However, the fact that the weapon disappeared shortly after seemed to imply that it took a lot of energy to use it.

This was his chance.

Now that the titanic wrestling match was over, they had a chance to put down the remaining alien creature before it could make its way back to the city. "Fire!"

The three consciousness could only watched flabbergasted as they were fired upon. The barrage of concentrated missiles was more overwhelming than anything. It wasn't like a simple tank squad could hit a target with pin-point accuracy, however, what it lacked in precision it more than made up for in numbers and blast radius. It was only a matter of time before they were hit.

"Typical!" The unidentified male mentally growled as missiles flew around them. "And we just saved them too!"

Illana was inclined to agree. Unfortunately, now wasn't the time and there was only one way out that she could see. "Let's move!"

Soon enough the titanic body was made to lunge and dive into the deeper part of the bay. The semi-solid element may not have prevented the remaining missiles from reaching them, but it did provide enough of a barrier to slow them down and allow the robot to swim away. When the last of the heavy artillery was spent, General Steel went out to survey the damage.

Nothing.

No discoloration in the water. No floating parts. No mechanical body.

Either the thing sank like a rock all the way to the bottom on the ocean… Or it got away. Considering the overall size of the thing and the beating it took and dished back out before… The general was hard pressed to believe the formal.

Sherman Woods

Far out of sight of their pursuers, the mighty giant emerged from the depths of the sea and made its way into the thick forest. It's armor gleaming as the water ran off its surface, washing off the soot from the battle. None spoke until they were well among the thick trees of the forest.

"Octus, why didn't you tell me you had these abilities?" The female voice asked as they carefully made their way into clearing.

"They are unknown to me as well." The masculine sounding robot admitted as it quickly went over this newly opened database for more details. "When extreme danger was sensed a part of my programming unlocked and initiated the symbiosis."

A symbiosis consisting of three parts forming one whole... Three essential groups coming together and becoming greater than the sum of their parts "Heart, body, and mind unite as one…" The very credo of Galaluna and her family made reality in the literal sense. It was beyond incredible. "I wonder what else we can do."

"Ahem." The mental clearing of a throat suddenly reminded the two that they weren't alone. "Can we, I don't know, separate?" The unknown male asked in a tone that indicated that he was both irritated and uncomfortable with all of this. "I don't know about you two, but I don't like other people in my head." In all honesty he had been trying not to think of anything beyond the conflict out of fear his thoughts would be read.

"Our apologies." Octus stated as he went over the necessary data sequences to safely disengage the symbiosis without compromising the individual armors. Once he isolated the proper variables, the giant disappeared in a flash and as expected, all three were free and stable. "There."

Once all sight returned and began to clear, the Magnus could be seen visibly shaking his head to clear it. "Thanks." He half grumbled over an open channel.

Yet before he could do anything, he found his personal space being invaded by the golden metal-woman. "Now tell me, please. What news do you bring from Galaluna?" She implored the larger mech, looking for all the world like a child in spite of the eternally frozen expression on the metal face. "Were our people able to repel the Mutraddi invasion?" Her proximity had him backing up, only for her to follow unheeded. "How fair is the king?"

It was all he could so to keep up. "Wait-What?" What in the world was she even talking about? Why would she think he even knew anything? "Mutraddi? King?" Was that the name of their race? They have a hierarchy?

"Magnus, we have arrived at your location. Moving into position now."

"Please, is he alright?" She practically begged as she tried to reach up to where the pilot would be. "Didn't he send for me?"

The Magnus caught her wrists automatically while trying to keep up with her questions. "Send for you?"

"It's why you're here, isn't it?" The golden girl asked as feverishly as if she wasn't being restrained by a mech over twice her size. "Does father want me to return home now?"

Her tone of voice and body language all seemed genuine. She truly seemed to think that he was one of them. This was very disconcerting. "I'm sorry, but I think you have me confused with someone else." As much as he needed to apprehend these two, he couldn't find it in himself to mislead such an earnest personality. "I am a guardian of this world. Earth. My job is to protect it from any and all invading alien threats." He soon guided her hands down and step away from her. "And… The only aliens invading… are you two."

"What…?"

All at once there was a virtual explosion of bright light and sound surrounding them. Blinded by the assault on her eyes, it was all Ilana could do both shield herself and see what was going on. An unknown hovercraft had appeared in the sky, flanking the Magnus and casting him in ominous shadow. Ground forces came barreling through the trees and moved in to surround the two alien robots with weapons drawn. An ambush.

"Princess!" In a repeat of their first encounter with the natives of this world, Octus lunged for his charge and encased her in his hard-light body. The resulting sphere allowed for a rapid getaway as shots were fired to stop them.

However, unlike last time, their pursuers were far better equipped to chase after them. Instead of ground based vehicles, these enemies modes of transportations hovered off the ground, there by eliminating the friction from the ground and allowed for maximum speed. The weapons were more energy based and didn't require constant reloading. Plus the targeting systems were more precise and get the advance alien robot a real challenge when it came to evading and avoiding their shots. Worse of all was the Magnus, whose familiar electronics allowed him to track their movements even when they managed to lose their pursuers, if only for a moment. The dense forest allowed for as much hindrance for themselves as it did their would-be captors. It had been that very terrain that allowed a small window of escape in the form of loose soil, and scattered leaves suddenly becoming airborne due to a particularly sharp turn.

Using his sensitive scanning instruments, Octus managed to locate a small cave hidden within the crevasse at base of a large hill. Determining that they were far enough away, the robotic guardian released his charge and quickly herded her inside. Making sure to stay between her and the entrance as the sound of hovering engines passed overhead, as well as the flash of passing light.

"Stay here." Octus instructed as he made sure the coast was clear enough to step out. "I'll lead them away." With that, he sped off, purposely making enough noise to attract any attention and lead it away from his charge.

Said charge was too stunned to even argue. None of this was making any sense. That was clearly a Magnus battle armored suit and the pilot had clearly been trained to use it thoroughly. If it was compatible enough to be merged with her own armor and Octus to form that enormous robot, then it had to be Galalunian technology. Which meant that the only conceivable way the pilot could have gotten it was by serving in her planet's military. If the Magnus pilot serves as this world's guardian than how…?

A sudden sound at the mouth of the narrow cave had the princess looking up. "Octus?" The princess called out softly as she cautiously made her way toward the mouth of the cave. A much larger robotic figure came into view, blocking her path, and having her stumble back. "No…" The Magnus had found her.

"Easy." The Magnus gently coached as he effectively boxed the alien cowering deep in the shadows of the stone cavity. His armor not allowing him to enter any further. "I don't want to hurt you, but you have to come with me."

This couldn't be happening. "Why?" This just couldn't be happening. The Magnus were meant as a symbol of security and safety, and now… "Why are you doing this?"

He could hear the strain in her voice. "It my job to protect this planet." He stated calmly, not doing anything to try and force her out. "I can tell you don't mean us any harm, especially after everything you did to help with, whatever that monster was." After what they've been through together, he couldn't just apprehender her like a criminal. "If you come quietly and answer all our questions, I promise, you'll be treated fairly." If he could just get her to cooperate with him, show the rest of his organization that she didn't mean them any harm. "Maybe we can help…?" His attempts were met with the golden mech curling in on herself.

"Father…" Ilana began to sob. This was too much. Looking up at the armor that had always guarded her home and family now made to turn on her… It was too much to bare. "Father…"

The pilot was at a lost. This wasn't right. It just wasn't right. He was supposed to represent the Earth. To not only be its guardian, but also its diplomat to an extent. This alien had proven to be an ally. She wasn't a threat to them. Seeing her so frighten to the point of tears… He couldn't do it. Not like this, and especially not after what they've survived through together.

The Magnus let out a deep sigh, and stood back up so that there was space between him the entrance. "Go."

The command was so soft she almost didn't hear it. "What?"

The mysterious Earth soldier merely turned his back to the princess. "Get out of here before my associates double back."

Ilana couldn't believe it. "You're… letting me go?"

"You help me to end a serious threat today. For that I owe you." He stated as he tried to reason with himself. He honestly couldn't believe he was actually doing this. "This is the repayment of that debt." This was a risk. A major one. Chances are he was going to regret this. "Magnus to Motherbird, I lost sight of the golden mechanoid."

"Copy that. Come home Magnus."

It all seemed surreal as Ilana made her way out of her hiding spot. This… Earth Magnus was really going to defy his orders? For her? "Thank you."

"Don't." Came the curt reply. As much as he pity her and her situation, he just couldn't have her thinking that this was going to be a reoccurring thing between them. "Next time we meet, I'm taking you in." With that he walked away, keeping his gaze straight ahead and ignoring the sound of her flight.

Sherman Woods: Cave

The Galalunian duo eventually found each other and traversed deep into the thick forest until they eventually found the familiar cave from before. Once they were safe and secure Octus immediately ran scans on the young royal to make sure she hadn't sustain any injuries. Through it all, Ilana's mind wondered back to the mysterious Earth Magnus. How they first met. How he seemed to have protected them from what they now knew was the planet's military forces, before attempting to kidnap her in the heat of the battle. How he single handedly held back the Mutraddi Mega Beast, before rushing to her side to free her from the debris that pinned her to the ground. How they seamlessly worked as one to fight off and end the threat to, not only own lives, but the Earth's as well. How he suddenly turned on them…

None of this made any sense at all. "I don't understand how this is even possible." Could it be that this world just so happens to have technology similar to her home world? No... It couldn't be. "That Magnus didn't know about the invasion back home or who I am…" This planet still struggled with equalizing their own social classes. There was no possible way that this was all just a coincidence. "If he's not Galalunian, how did he get a hold of Galalunian technology?"

"Unknown." None of this made any logical sense, no matter how much he went over the data collected. By all accounts, there were no records of any embassies being sent this corner of the galaxy. No records of probes or deep space scans, let alone contact of any kind. It was very disconcerting. "But it's clear that we have more than just the Mutraddi to worry about now." He was going to have to expedite his efforts in securing a proper shelter for his charge and setting up the necessary security measures. He'll begin his research once the princess is asleep.

Motherbird: Undisclosed Location

Ever since they've gotten the confirmation that aliens had landed on Earth, Solomon had expected a great deal. He expected first contact to be messy and even hostile, while at the same time hoping to be met with nonaggression. It was one of the reasons the Magnus had been dispatched since its thrusters would have it on location much faster than the hover-jet. General Steel had all but guaranteed the formal there due to his unauthorized intervention and his tendency to shoot first attitude. Solomon also expected to see highly advanced technology and the spaceship in his possession certainly did not disappoint. Within a handful of hours he had the exact dimension, weight, and even a spectral analysis of the metal it was made of. The onboard computer, no doubt, held information that could be invaluable, if only they knew how to properly access it. He certainly expected more to come, but certainly not as soon as it did and most definitely not the colossal monster the Earth had just faced.

This creature, whatever it was, had not only massive, it was literally made of living fire, and nothing, absolutely nothing they had could put a dent in it. Literally the only thing that had an effect on it was the Magnus's attack and even that wasn't enough because of the size difference between the two. Then it all reached a new level when they suddenly lost all contact from Magnus.

All they saw was the creature blasting fire from its mouth at a specific spot on the ground, all they heard was a sudden cry of alarm before absolute silence, and the next thing anyone knew was that the smoke and ash had fallen away and new robot had appear. A titanic mechanical marvel the likes of which none on this world has ever seen. It was not only colossal it was fast. Normally something so large would be slow in movement, but this thing reacted as fluid and quick as a human being to its proportion. Faster even! The fact that it could materialize a weapon upon command was another feature that added to its ferocity, and danger level. Yet without knowing its full capabilities, there was little G3 could do to confront it, so they had to withdraw. However, they didn't get very far when the robot suddenly plunged into the depths. Curious, Solomon had it followed at a distance, hoping to at the very least learn where it had been hiding all this time.

The Magnus's homing signal came back online in the woods, of all places, miles away from where the battle took place. The open comm. frequency allowed his team to not only confirm that their agent was indeed alive, but also overhear some of the conversation as they moved in. Solomon had a recording of it and will be picking apart the dialogue carefully later on, but he was more concerned over the fact even with their advanced technology, the aliens still managed to get away. Agent Magnus, being the closest to the mission, was their only hope on shedding some light onto the purpose of the aliens' presence on their planet.

Yes, Solomon had expected many things from a genuine first face-to-face contact with aliens, but he never would have imagine a case of mistaken in identity in regards to his people. "They thought you were one of them?"

"Affirmative." The special agent responded as he stood at attention just beyond the light, keeping him in shadow. "Part of some royal guard from the sound of it." Royal. Meaning a hierarchy. Organized governmental structure means a civilized society. "Seems like their soldiers use similar battle suites. The smaller robot found it compatible enough to form a symbiosis of some kind."

That caught his CO's attention easily. "Symbiosis?" These aliens can form symbiotic relationships with each other and others compatible beings? It would explain how they lost contact with him before, but what kind of symbiosis could possibly… "The giant."

"Yes sir." The agent concurred with a nod of the head. "Once the symbiosis was activated, I experienced some form of disembodiment. The next thing I knew, I was co-piloting a colossal battle robot." The sensation had been the most bizarre thing he had ever felt in his life. "It responded directly to my mental impulses when I reacted to the monster's attack. The same thing happened with one of the aliens when the monster retaliated." It had been strange to experience virtually sharing his body with others yet still be individually distinctive from them. "It seemed that I was in control of all offensive movements. Yet in order to use a weapon, I had to synchronize my thoughts with the second alien in order to fabricate one."

Incredible. Unbelievable even. These… Mechanoids were able to physically merge and transform into something greater than the sum of their respective parts and form a new even greater whole. How would one even rank such a level of technology, let alone be able to study it? The fact that one of his own men had just experienced a first encounter of such a transformation… Could they do that with others? Or only with compatible individuals and tech? Was there a way to find out?

Taking a deep breath to slow his racing thoughts down, Solomon refocused on the issue at hand. "Hmm… Did they happen to tell you why they were here on Earth?" There will be time to seek answers if and when they capture the aliens. For now, he will learn all he can from his agent. "Or what they wanted?"

Said agent took a moment to think back to the conversation he had with the mechs. "If I remember correctly, the golden one mentioned that their home was being invaded." Meaning that there was a second group of aliens they may have to contend with. "Something called… the Mutraddi. They were running from them."

Mutraddi. They had a name. An actual name for the other race. One that, apparently, was very hostile. "So they're merely using the Earth as a sanctuary." If the 1st group was on the run from the 2nd due to the 2nd invading the 1st, then it stood to reason that there was a hostile conflict happening somewhere beyond the stars. And the Earth just may have gotten dragged into it.

"It would seem so, sir." How well did the agent remembered the urgent tone of the golden mech's voice when she beseeched him for information he simply didn't have. "She was… desperate to hear news about her father." Something he could sympathize with quite easily.

"She?"

"The golden one, sir." The agent clarified after composing himself. "The armor design and vocals, from what I could make out, implied feminine in nature."

"And the second?"

"There were no distinguishing features to imply gender." From what he saw and heard, it had been the most mechanical one of the duo. "However the vocals would suggest male."

Identifiable genders. Possibly similar body types to humans? "And you didn't see what the aliens looked like while you were experiencing this… out of body state?"

"No sir." In all honesty he had genuinely thought he had gone blind in the beginning. "I could… sense that there were others, but I couldn't see, or move, or even hear until one of them spoke up." He certainly didn't even notice that his eyesight had suddenly been leveled with the monster's until it hit them. "At least not until we were attacked and went on the defense."

Solomon pondered this a moment more; evaluating the pros and cons. Due to the violent attack causing so much smoke and dust to be airborne, none of could see what had happened or how the giant even appeared. Agent Magnus was literally on sight and was there for the best source of information they could get. Yet, from the sound of it, even he hadn't seen how it had happened despite being right in the middle of it. However, if his agent couldn't see them in the state they were in, chances were equally good that they didn't see him. If they could find a way to confirm this, it should come in handy for future encounters.

Another mission for another time. Currently they needed to deal with the here and now. "This monster that attacked, can you confirm that it was a Mutraddi?"

"We were more concern with staying alive at the time, sir."

"Fair enough." Although Solomon hated to assume anything, so until they get positive confirmation he wasn't going to rule it out completely. "You've done well for your first field mission, Agent Magnus." Far better than he could have hoped all things considered. "Hopefully next time we'll be able to apprehend them."

At this, the agent merely closed his eyes and lowered his head some. "Yes sir."