"So, what are we gonna do first?" Ryouma asked as he looked around the New York city
"Well, I've been here before. We are gonna pay a visit to Edison Machine Works and talk to the manager." Tesla replied
"Charles Batchelor, right?" Ryouma said after thinking about it for a while
"I am very impressed. I expect no more from the world's famous historian," Tesla said as he laughs a bit.
"Well, thank you. I also expect no more from the great inventor." Ryouma replied as he laughs
As they walked to Edison Machine Works, someone follows them from behind. Tesla was aware of that, but he decided to ignore it.
An hour later, they arrived at Edison Machine Works.
"Here we are. Edison Machine Works, where I meet Edison for the first time." Tesla said as he looked at the building
"Now, we need to find Charles Batchelor, yes?" Ryouma asked to make sure
"Yeah, and also we need to ask him several questions about Edison," Tesla added as he enters the building, followed by Ryouma.
As they enter the company, they were shocked. So many things changed, but most importantly, it's not like in the proper history.
"W-What are they producing? R-robots???" Ryouma said with a shocked expression on his face
"Hmm, as expected. And there's no one working here…" Tesla said as he looks at the robots.
"What do you mean by that? Shouldn't they produce dynamos or electric motors, like in the proper history?" Ryouma asked again as he looked at the robots
"Remember, we are here to find out what's wrong in this era. And now we know the source." Tesla said as he continues walking around the factory
"Is it Edison?" Ryouma said as he follows him
"Correct. Edison is the one who builds this place, along with his partner Charles Batchelor. The only lead now is to find Charles in this factory." Tesla said with a serious tone
"Well, this place isn't that big…We should find him in no time." Ryouma said as he observes the place
"Yeah. If those robots aren't powered, we should be fine." Tesla said as he looks at a big window on the top floor
"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Ryouma asked curiously
"Just look closely at the robots, you will know…" Tesla replied
Ryouma take a closer look at the robots. The robot's hands are made into different kinds of weapons, such as knives, Gatling guns, swords, cannons, and more.
"T-This is scary as hell…." Ryouma said as he stepped back and went back to Tesla
"Now, stay close to me. Something is not right here…" Tesla said as he approaches the office door at the top floor.
Tesla then knocks on the office door.
"Charles, you there?" he said as he knocks.
No answer…
"Well, this is strange…" Tesla said
"I-I don't have a good feeling about this…" Ryouma said with a scared expression on his face
Tesla then grabs the doorknob and slightly opens the door.
"The office isn't locked. Let's go inside." Tesla said as he about to open the door
"O-Okay…" Ryouma replied while trembling in fear
Tesla then opens the office door and found someone dead on the desk.
"Oh, no. We are too late…" Tesla said as he looks at the body.
"He…He's dead!!" Ryouma said as he shocked at the view
"Without a doubt, he is…" Tesla said as he approaches the body
Tesla observes the body. It has a burn mark on the back of the neck, and both of his eyes are gone. It also smells a bit burnt around the body.
"Somebody electrocutes him to death," Tesla said as he walked back to Ryouma, who is standing near the door.
"What? But who? And why?" Ryouma asked him a few questions that Tesla himself didn't understand
"I don't know. And our only lead is gone…" Tesla said with a sad tone.
"Then, what should we do now? We don't have any single clue about his whereabouts." Ryouma said as he leaned back to the wall
As they're thinking inside the office, someone powers the robots by distributing electricity from their hands. The robots began to move around the factory.
"W-what the- Why are these robots alive?!" Ryouma said as he looked out from the window
"What?! This is not good. We should get away from here!" Tesla said as he looks out from the same window
"But how? We are trapped here!" Ryouma said as he panicked
Tesla then touches his left hand and taps on his arm randomly. Suddenly, his left arm turns into a mechanic arm with a lot of mini tesla coils on it.
"Get behind me, I'll protect you," Tesla said as he exits the office.
"A-Alright!" Ryouma said while surprised at the change of his arm
"I know you have so many questions, but let's save it for later. Your life matters more…" Tesla adds as he prepared his mechanic arm.
As they proceed to the ground floor, the robots saw them and ran towards them. Without hesitation, Tesla destroys them one by one by shooting out high voltage electrics and burn their circuits. As Ryouma hides behind Tesla, he was surprised and confused at the same time, looking at what just happened.
They both struggling to make their way out of the factory as the robots keep coming one after another. Suddenly, one of the robots shoots out buzzsaws from their hand.
"Ryouma, watch out!" Tesla shouts as he pushes Ryouma away, letting him get hit by the buzzsaws on his back
"T-Tesla! You alright?!" Ryouma asked as he gets pushed away
"I-I'm fine. Let's get out from here before it gets any worse." Tesla said as he shoots the robot who shoots the buzzsaws
"O-Ok!" Ryouma said as he stands up and hides again behind him
After a few struggles, they managed to escape from the factory. Tesla got hurt on the back due to the buzzsaws. Ryouma sits him on the ground under the tree nearby.
"Tesla, are you alright?" Ryouma asked while worried about him
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine…I just need time to rest…" Tesla said as his mechanical arms revert back into his arm.
"I'll protect you here. You can just rest here and- "Ryouma's line was cut off as a man dressed in the brown suit approach them.
"Well, well, well. Looks like my plan is a success…" the man said as he approaches them.
"E-Edison…This is your doing...?" Tesla asked as he recognizes him
"H-How did you managed to find us here?" Ryouma asked as he scared a bit
"Well, who else knows about this place besides Charles and me?" Edison replied as his hands covered in electricity
"I...knew you're the one who killed him!" Tesla said with a slightly angry expression on his face
"H-how dare you! Why did you do this?!" Ryouma asked with an angry tone
"Ryouma, no. Did you see the eyes?" Tesla said as he prevents Ryouma from talking any further
"H-His eyes. It's red!" Ryouma said as he looks at Edison's eyes
"That's right…Somebody must be controlling him…" Tesla said as he winces in pain
"Awh, looks like you got hurt in there, Nikola Tesla?" Edison mocked him as he prepares his electricity on his hand
"No! Stay away from him!" Ryouma said as he stood up in front of Tesla
"Don't worry, kid. This won't take a long time…" Edison said as he pushes Ryouma aside with his electric
Ryouma got pushed aside by Edison's electric, leaving Tesla unguarded. Edison slowly approaches Tesla as he shoots his electricity towards him, hurting Tesla even more.
"I wonder why you even alive…I am the king of inventors. No one shall stand on my way!" Edison said as he creates a ball of electric on his palm
Ryouma can only watch as Edison about to kill Tesla. But suddenly, a green tube was thrown from afar. It rolls towards Edison.
"Hm?" Edison was confused while looking at the tube.
Suddenly, the tube explodes. It creates radiation waves around Edison, blinding him for a duration.
"R-Radiation? What a joke!" Edison said as he emits electricity around his body, eliminating all the available radiation around him.
But at that time, Ryouma and Tesla was already gone.
"Hmm, so someone was following them the whole time…This is getting interesting…" Edison said as he walked away from the factory.
A few moments later, Ryouma wakes up in a bedroom.
"What? Where am I?" Ryouma asked in himself as he looked around.
As he wakes up from the bed, a man enters the room.
"Oh, so you're already awake? That was a close call. Edison almost kills both of you…" the man said as he taps Ryouma's shoulder.
"So, you're the one who saves us? Thank you. And where's Tesla?" Ryouma said as he regained his memory and realize that Tesla isn't with him
"He's in the other room. Come with me." The man said as he exits the room.
Ryouma follows the man to a room. Inside, there's a woman taking care of Tesla by emitting radiation to his body.
"Marie, the kid has already awoken!" the man said as he approaches them.
"Ah, very nice. You just have a slight burn mark on your hand. You should be fine." The woman said as she finishes taking care of Tesla
"Wait, Marie? Like, Marie Curie?" Ryouma asked with a shock expression
"Yeah, that's me. You sure know a lot about us, huh?" Marie said with a happy tone.
"Then, you must be her husband, Pierre Curie?" Ryouma said as he looks at the man beside Marie
"Yep, that's right!" Pierre said with a cheerful tone
"But, how did you guys managed to get here? You guys are in a different timeline from Tesla and Edison." Ryouma asked curiously
"I can explain that one…" Tesla said as he wakes up from his sleep
"Tesla? You knew about this?" Ryouma asked as he looks at him
"Yeah, and sorry to hide this from you. I'll tell you everything…"