(Island Prison - Shyza's POV)-----------
Finally! After staying in that wretched place for hours, I was going to get the hell out of there!
But...
"What did you say?", I politely inquired for the tenth time.
"I don't want to leave", Olivia responded with the same, dead expression. "I don't want to feel pain anymore."
"Are you kidding? Which prisoner wouldn't like to get the hell out of a prison!?", pissed, I stormed into the cell despite the putrid stench. "Listen, I-"
My feet slightly kicked against something, forcing me to a stop.
"What's this?", I picked up the object from the floor. "Hmm"
...
...
...
That's when it hit me, "THE HOLY SCRIPTURES!! ... Wait, why am I acting surprised?"
"G-Get that thing away from me!", sudden fear gripped Olivia, pushing her backwards but the walls kept her in place.
"Huh? You're scared of it?", I tilted my head. "Mmm, then why do you have it?"
"I-I don't remember", her pupils shook as she clutched her head. "I'm scared, I suddenly remember everything now, I suddenly know where I am, what they've been doing to me."
Concern crept up on my face, "Heh, you've probably been through a lot."
"Mommy, Daddy... They're not real", she began to drown herself in her tears. "And it's because I was always a burden to them If only I did what they said... If only I kept my mouth shut. They killed them..."
"Your parents, they were killed?", my voice toned down as a familiar wave of grief slowly found its way into my heart.
"Prison mommy helps me but, there's no doubt that I only burden her and get her hurt all the time", her body trembled. "I'm weak, I'm useless, please let me die here... You all said it yourself, even the alien crap smells better and are more useful than I am."
Olivia's words instantly pulled me out from my sadness, how in the world could she utter those words!?
"Why not kill me, or dispose of me if I'm that useless!? No one can ever consider me human!! So-"
"Shut up", I muttered in a dark tone. "Why not do anything about it?"
She kept silent, clenching her fists so hard that they began to bleed.
"There's nothing I can do-"
"And whoever said that!!??", my rage echoed in the cell. "If you're weak, fix it!! If you're lonely, fix it!! If you ever did something bad, fix it!! and if you're looking for something lost, you might as well look for it!!"
"How-"
"The hell should I know!!?? That's why you're you!! Because YOU are the only one who knows!!"
There was something I learnt from Sekky and it was never to give up, even if it ended up hurting you in the end. Even if you knew it would hurt.
"Why sit here and do nothing, when you can do something about it?"
"I..."
"Pfft, I don't sound like a kid but like hell I care", I kept the scriptures firm in my grip. "Hey Olivia, even if destiny decides to make you suffer, give it a freaking slap in the face and force it beneath your feet until you're satisfied."
Olivia's green eyes gleamed dimly, "M-Maybe, Maybe I could do something."
"Kek, of course. Now, let's get the hell outta here", a blank expression completely took over my face. "This place sucks."
"Mm", she nodded weakly, gradually standing on her feet and offering her hand. "I'll hold on to the book."
"Hmm?", my grip on the scriptures loosened while I thought, "Well, I'm supposed to bring both of them back to the ship."
I handed it to her and turned around. She stood there for a while, looking down at the book in her hands. It seemed like whatever fear she was trying to suppress wasn't planning on backing down.
"Now, let's hurry! You have some stuff to explain to me while we leave", I grinned as the thought of finally leaving the prison began to fill me with relief.
"Okay-"
*Slip*
"WAAH!!"
"Huh?", her sudden shriek grabbed me by surprise.
*BAM!!*
"Olivia!! Are you okay!?", I ran towards her, completely confused as to what had happened.
"ow ow ow", she rubbed her nose and adjusted her big round glasses. "Sorry, I'm really clumsy."
A sarcastic grin swept up on my face, "How in the world did your face end up smashing into the wall?"
"Hehe, I don't know", she scratched her head as she stood up.
"Pfft"
That was it, I HAD to laugh.
"HAHAHAHAAA!! That's fluffing ridiculous!!!", my hysteric laughter echoed throughout the room as it sent me flying onto the ground, rolling all over until streams of tears flowed down my face.
"Ha... Haha", Olivia laughed nervously.
"S-Sorry Sorry, you reminded me of something", I said as I walked out of the cell. "Let's go now."
Olivia walked into the hallway, the light finally allowing me to make out her features. She had dark skin, like everyone else... Well, everyone except Sir. William. Her eyes were an emerald green colour, though they seemed lifeless, and one thing that caught my attention was her INSANELY huge afro puff.
It seemed as if she hadn't taken care of herself for years and the smell of blood coming off of her proved it.
"Wow, even I wouldn't be sane if I were in your shoes", I stared at her.
"Huh?"
"Nothing!"
We began to walk down the hallway, towards the end.
"What were those tests about?", I had to get a bit of info from her in case I was asked to give a report.
"Mmm", she placed a finger on her chin. "Every year, we get shipped to a laboratory for experiments but I never joined them since I had no use."
"Experiments?", the thought reminded me of something. "Could this place be owned by one of the two organizations?"
"Organizations? Oh, do you mean DeV co and Zephain co?", there was a brief pause. "I don't know."
"Hm"
Of course, it couldn't be any of them. Most of their shady works were done on exoplanets and planets that received little attention from the government, those planets were Scorx and Celladonia.
But, there was something like that happening on the main planet. Something was completely off.
"Ah! The exit-", Olivia suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?"
"Hey, why are you breaking me out? Aren't you one of them? and, how did you know my name?"
...
"Heh", a sinister expression appeared on my face. "You're finally going to be killed, you useless piece of trash."
She flinched, shaking as she slowly took steps backwards.
"AKUKEKAKAKA! Just kidding", I blinked blankly and walked out of the Cell section into the reception. "I'll explain everything later, just trust me", I glanced back with a smile.
"Ha, Haha, that wasn't funny", sweat ran down the side of her cheeks.
"Pfft, I'm currently holding back my tears"
The entire prison was empty, had everyone left with the prisoners? Just then, the image of that extremely lazy man from before popped up in my head.
He might have reported me before leaving and may have known that I was a Cyborg. With that, he probably set a trap and led everyone out so he could deal with me without holding back.
Or, was I just overthinking it,?
We reached the main entrance and immediately walked out.
"Did everyone leave? That's new", Olivia looked around, hiding under the shade of a nearby tree.
"What are you doing?", I raised an eyebrow.
"The sun might hurt me", she replied with a smile.
"Eh?", my anger was about to surface since I had had ENOUGH of that place but, there was something strange.
*WHAM!*
"Ouch!!", Olivia rubbed her head as a hard fruit bounced off of it.
"Shh"
"Huh? Is something wrong?", she whispered.
Something was wrong, something or someone was watching us. It didn't feel like it was hidden from our view, it was close... very close.
I narrowed my eyes, quietly and carefully sweeping through my surroundings.
"There!", I exclaimed in my head.
A particular spot in front of us seemed to shift and distort occasionally.
"Arm cannon", a mutter escaped from my mouth, commanding a weapon that instantly engulfed my left arm.
"W-Where did that come from?", Olivia's eyes widened in curiosity.
"Charge", I pointed the cannon towards the direction of the odd space. "Let's see if you're gonna keep standing there", I thought.
Seconds...
Minutes...
It seemed like an hour had even passed.
"You seem like a smart little girl", a deep female voice spoke as the distortion stopped and revealed the person who stood hidden right in front of us. "But sadly, you're not ready to kill someone yet."
Her shape was completely visible now. She was in a white mecha suit that red lines flowing down the sides of her body. There were a few open spots on her suit that revealed her thighs, arms and a part of her chest. The upper part of her face was hidden under the helmet she wore, leaving her lips which were professionally coloured in a dark purple colour.
What caught my attention the most though, were the colours of her mecha suit. The pattern at which they were put was too familiar.
"You, Are you working for the government?", I asked, taking a cautious stance.
"Oh? and why would I tell you that?", the woman replied with a smirk. "Also, how long do you plan on trying to be an adult? I can see through your guise."
"Tch, must be her helmet", the thought crossed my mind. "I hate being in this fake body, there's no way I plan on keeping it!!", I pouted.
"Huh? Eh?", poor Olivia stood there, confused.
"Deactivate", my disguise faded away after I gave the command, returning me to my true self. Good ol' little Shyza!
"Woah!! You guys suddenly look taller!!", cold sweat ran down my face.
"EHH!!??", at this point, Olivia had already died of confusion. "Small! Big!! First!! Disguise!? Little girl!?"
"Ehehe", I scratched my head. "I'll explain later."
"Hm, now what do you plan to do? Take me on with those fancy clothes?", the woman held her waist.
"FANCY CLOTHES!?", I snapped. "This, THIS, is an incredibly powerful battle dress!!"
Woman: "..."
Olivia: "..."
"What!??"
"Go home, kid", she sighed. "I love to kill, but I'll only end up wasting time with you."
"Hah!?", a sarcastic grin cracked up.
"I'm here to get a prisoner who plans to break out", she began to walk forward. "Unless you wish to get in the way of the government."
"So, you are from the government", I aimed my cannon. "Tch, I don't have time"
"Ho? I blurted it out", metallic spheres appeared around her. "I'll have no choice but to kill you then."
"Olivia!! Close your eyes and run!!", a tiny ball materialized in my hand.
"U-Uh! Okay!"
"Heh, useless", the woman stretched her right arm, sending a barrage of metallic spheres.
"Hmph", I grinned, throwing the ball into the air.
*Flash!*
A harsh cloud of light burst out, leaving everything clouded and blinding every single thing in sight.
"Damn it!!", the woman stumbled. "I can't see- uh wait, I can."
The light faded away, leaving an empty space before her. We managed to run by her in time but we were forced to a complete stop.
"Oh no!! A C-Cliff!!", Olivia stammered, stepping back.
"Didn't expect that", I looked down, gulping as the waves smashed against the rocks below.
"Y'all are just funny"
Our enemy didn't seem to find it difficult, easily regaining her sight and putting forth her palm. One of the metal spheres floated freely, landing on her palm.
"Now, why don't you both enjoy a nice dip in the sea", she grinned, sending the ball blasting towards us at full speed.
I closed my eyes, bracing for the impact.
*KLANG!*
"H-Huh?", my left eye shot open, checking to see what had caused that sound.
"You blocked it!", Olivia jumped.
"I- what?", there, I held my scythe firm in my hands. "I must've activated it unconsciously."
That's when the idea popped up!
"Kukukuku", I grinned demonically. "Bring it on sucka!!"
"Uhh, I don't know how you managed to block that but whatever you say I guess", the woman shrugged, summoning bigger spheres that had a darker gleam.
"Heh!", I spun my scythe, ready to smack those spheres.
"Bombard"
Several metallic spheres were directed at me with full force, sending an immense energy wave along with it.
"UP!"
*Klang!*
"LEFT!"
*Klang!*
"DOWN!"
*Klang!*
"AND RIGHT!!"
*Klang!*
I blocked every single one of them.
"Akukekakaka!! What happened!? Out of spheres!!??"
"Tsk", the woman spat. "You little wretch"
A larger sphere appeared above her palm, this time it had a completely black colour.
"Let's see if you can block this", she smirked, dropping the ball onto the ground.
*SMASH!!*
A tiny shock wave swept through the area as the ball crashed several feet into the ground. That thing must've weighed tons!!
"The heaviest metal on the planet, you can finally say your goodbyes", she directed her palm at us, causing the sphere to eject from the ground.
"Little girl! There's no way you can block that thing!!", Olivia gulped.
"You're right", my legs began to tremble. "But, I know someone who can."
The woman yawned, "Oho? You have a trump card now?"
My confidence completely fueled as I tightly gripped my scythe, "Sliza!"
(Crux Coelestis Ship - Control room)
(Ed's POV)-------------------------
"Hehehehehee", I laughed sinisterly as the red lights blinked on my holographic screen. "Finally."
"Any news?", Sir. William sat on his seat, cross-legged.
"Heh, You see", the image of a female figure appeared on my screen. "I placed evolution files into Shyza's brain. Once she awakens Sliza, she'll automatically install those files and BOOM! Instant power!"
"Hmm", he kept silent. "And does she know?"
"Oh, she'll know alright", I grinned.
(Island Prison - Shyza's POV)-----------
"-Takeover complete-", Sliza activated, switching my left eye into a red colour.
"A Cyborg", Olivia muttered.
"Hmph, this brat was a Cyborg all along?", the woman stopped the sphere in mid-air. "But how's that possible?"
(Alright then! Sliza, get rid of the enemy!!)
"-Denied-"
(What?)
"-Files located, beginning installation-", air vents appeared on my legs and arms, blowing out the heated air.
(W-WHAT!? NOW I HAVE AIR VENTS IN MY BODY!?)
"-Robotic evolution-", Sliza declared as my body slowly began to increase in size.
"W-What now? Big, Small, big again!?", Olivia scratched her head vigorously. "Aaaah, my head!!"
"-34/50 files installed-", another layer of cloth appeared, covering my growing body as my battle dress got smaller. "-45/50 installed-"
"Robotic evolution?", the woman stopped to think when suddenly, her eyes sparked. "Attack!!"
The heavy sphere was sent dashing towards us at full speed.
"-Files 50/50 installed-", a red battle dress covered my body. Its edges had been designed with an odd-looking flower while a thorn-like ribbon appeared in my hair.
"-Evolution complete: AI -> NTAI-"
(HAAH!? How the hell did you become an NTAI!!??)
"-I can make my own decisions now-", Sliza smiled as it now had full control of my body.
The sphere got closer and closer, heating up as its velocity increased.
"-I dislike our opponent-", Sliza spun the scythe, transforming it into some kind of huge racket just like the one humans used for tennis thousands of years ago.
*SLAM!!*
With full force, Sliza smashed the sphere back to its source at high speed.
"Damn it!"
The enemy tried moving away, but it was too late. The sphere landed straight into her belly, sending her flying into the building with so much force that half of it was destroyed.
"-There-", Sliza dusted its hands.
(How, Why are you now an NTAI? I'm- I'M SCARED OF NTAI's)
I broke down in tears within my mind.
"Umm, little girl?", Olivia called out.
"-Human woman, you may address me as Sliza-", it winked.
"S-Sure, she's back", she pointed to the dust-filled area where the enemy had made an impact.
"You little bitches", a growl emanated from the dust cloud as the battered mech warrior walked out with two large rockets resting on platforms that appeared on her thighs. "I'm gonna fucking kill you all."
(Gasp!! Bad language!! Sliza-)
"-Already thought of it-", it responded, summoning two cannons that engulfed my arms. "-Dual cannon, merge-"
Sliza slammed the cannons together, causing a fusion that created a huge cannon.
"-Charging-"
Harsh humming sounds boomed as energy began to charge within the weapon.
"-Dual powered blast furnace-"