Alex was about to follow everyone to the training ground when he felt someone grab his hand. Turning his head, he saw Lucy smiling at him. He tilted his head slightly, confused by her sudden boldness. Usually, Lucy was shy whenever someone tried to get close to her. She noticed his questioning look and, still smiling, said:
"I see you've finished working on the robot to protect Gloria."
Alex grimaced at the mention of GIR as a protector. He knew that the robot could cause more trouble than help in a dangerous situation. In berserker mode, GIR could become a real disaster, especially if anything happened to Gloria.
"I don't think he's right for the job. That robot definitely has a few screws loose," Alex sighed, rubbing his forehead tiredly.
He had already suffered enough with GIR. As soon as the robot got access to the internet, he spent days and nights watching funny videos or popular dance trends. It could even happen in the middle of the night, and more than once, Alex had to throw whatever was at hand at him to calm him down. Lucy noticed the exhaustion on Alex's face and realized that there might indeed be problems with the robot.
"What do you mean?" she asked, confused, watching his reaction.
"It all started when Rebecca changed something in the code you and I wrote. Then, of course, I didn't listen to Gloria and gave GIR access to the internet. Now we have a walking disaster in the form of a cute dog," Alex explained, sighing in regret.
"Is it really that bad?" Lucy asked, surprised.
"You'll see soon enough. The only bright side is that he somewhat follows the protocols... in his own way. Did you notice how he called Rebecca 'Mom'?" Alex added with a smile, pulling something out of his pocket.
Lucy remembered the moment and was a little surprised. Now she understood why it happened: GIR had interpreted the protection protocol too literally. Alex was partly to blame since he had jokingly referred to Gloria and the other girls as the robot's 'moms.' And here was the result — GIR took it seriously.
"At least he can protect Gloria," Lucy tried to reassure him, although she wasn't entirely confident in that herself.
Alex just nodded wearily in response. He knew that the robot was capable of protecting Gloria, but once the protective protocol was activated, GIR might start seeing everyone around as a threat. Alex was already considering creating a second version of the robot but without dismantling the first one.
For now, however, he had other tasks. After this mission, he planned to work on one of his personal projects and knew that Lucy's help would be invaluable. He looked at her intently, and Lucy, noticing his gaze, grew cautious.
"Lucy, I'm going to need your netrunner 'superpower,'" Alex said with a glint in his eyes.
Lucy was surprised, not understanding why he would need her skills.
"For what?" she asked, clearly intrigued.
Alex cleared his throat, toning down his enthusiasm, and shifted to a more serious tone, which made Lucy a bit nervous.
"I need you to pull the camera footage from the site of the accident that Gloria was involved in," Alex said, looking into her eyes.
Lucy tensed up even more. She realized that Alex was getting himself into something risky.
"Why do you need it?" she asked anxiously.
Alex sighed and, frowning, decided to explain:
"I want to help Gloria get revenge, even if she doesn't want it herself. I'm going to do it regardless."
Lucy tightened her grip on his hand, trying to warn him.
"Are you sure Gloria wants that? Maybe she just wants to forget everything," Lucy said cautiously.
"She won't be able to forget. Every day she looks at the urn with her son's ashes. Yes, I'm doing this partly for my own selfish reasons. But the best way to forget is knowing that the person responsible for your pain is either buried in the ground or sipping through a straw for the rest of their life," Alex said with a dark smile on his face.
Lucy flinched at the sight of his wide, almost unnatural smile. She understood that Alex wouldn't back down, and although she didn't like the idea, she knew he would find a way to get what he wanted.
"I'll help you, but promise me you'll be careful," she said in a firm tone.
Alex smiled warmly, pulled Lucy into a hug, and spun her around in the air.
"Of course, I've already got everything planned!" he laughed, gently setting her back down.
Lucy huffed, knowing that his promises could only be trusted halfway. Alex had already caused some crazy situations, like getting into a gunfight armed with nothing but a brick, and she dreaded to think what he would do this time.
"Let's go to the range, they're probably all waiting for us," Lucy said, taking Alex's hand.
"Yeah, but I need to grab something to test first," Alex replied with a slight smile, squeezing her hand a little tighter.
Lucy didn't know what exactly Alex intended to take with him, and she was about to ask, but he just smiled and dragged her toward the garage. There, Alex opened the weapons compartment and pulled out his new katana.
Lucy looked at the weapon with interest — the katana looked unusual, unlike anything she had seen before. Her attention was drawn to a mechanism on the sheath that resembled a firearm.
"Your sheath is strange. What's that mechanism for?" she asked, pointing to the part that looked like a magazine for bullets.
Alex just gave her a mysterious smile.
"You'll find out soon."
Lucy rolled her eyes. He always answered like that. Even when he installed an AI with a self-learning feature, he didn't explain why he needed it right away. Only under the threat that she wouldn't help him did he reveal his plans.
Alex attached the katana to his belt, checked how comfortably it fit in his hand, and nodded to himself, satisfied with the result. Then he took Lucy's hand, and they headed to the range, where their team had already gathered.
As they got closer, club music reached their ears. When they got even nearer, Alex saw the group gathered around the source of the noise. Squinting, he noticed GIR performing what looked like breakdancing, spinning on his head.
"Here we go again," Alex thought, tiredly placing his hand on his forehead.
The first time GIR danced for Gloria, she praised him, and ever since, he had been showing off increasingly bizarre dance moves. Alex had initially laughed when GIR danced to meme songs, but it soon became annoying.
Once, Alex had shown the robot a new dance just for fun, but GIR spent the entire day singing and repeating the moves. Alex grew tired of hearing the same song over and over, especially when Gloria was at work, leaving him the only one to endure the performance.
"Looks like you're having fun," Alex said as he approached the group.
GIR, noticing Alex, immediately stopped dancing, saluted, and then, upon seeing Lucy, ran over and hugged her leg. Lucy smiled and picked him up, and GIR, pleased, snuggled into her. Alex just shook his head at the sight and addressed the group.
"I have to admit, your robot is pretty amusing, especially with his dancing," Dorio laughed.
"Amusing until you hear the same song all day," Alex grumbled, his eye twitching slightly.
Dorio gave him a puzzled look, not understanding what he meant. Alex turned to GIR, who was now comfortably resting in Lucy's arms, and, noticing his owner's gaze, tilted his head with a silly expression.
"Hey, GIR, show everyone that dance Gloria liked," Alex suggested with a smirk.
GIR's eyes immediately lit up with excitement. Jumping down from Lucy's arms, he stood in the center of the circle, as if preparing for a major performance. The robot cleared his throat, which looked far too humanlike for a machine, surprising the onlookers. Then GIR started to sing:
"Hey bugi bugi bam bam, let's go body body boom boom," and began moving in sync with the song.
Alex sighed. A song he once liked had now become an irritation. But when he noticed everyone clapping and laughing, including Rebecca, who was singing along and dancing beside the robot, his mood lifted.
Pilar joined his sister, and the sight of his tall mohawk and long arms moving to a children's song made even Alex smile.
"Don't want to join in?" he asked Lucy with a mischievous grin.
"No, thanks. I'm fine right here," she replied softly, smiling at him.
Alex glanced at the dancing GIR, but decided it was time to end the fun—they had important tasks ahead.
"Alright, GIR, that's enough. We need to test your combat capabilities," Alex said, clapping his hands to get the robot's attention.
GIR immediately stopped dancing and singing. Hearing that he was about to use weapons, he saluted and stood at attention, awaiting commands. Alex just shook his head—GIR was always obedient, but only when one of his "moms" was around.
"Now, head to the range to test your combat functions," Alex said, pointing to the targets.
GIR saluted again and, like a disciplined soldier, made his way to the range, waiting for further instructions. Everyone watched him in amazement—it was hard to understand why Alex complained about the robot's disobedience.
"Didn't you say he doesn't listen to you?" Maine asked in surprise, frowning.
Alex sighed and began to explain the quirks of GIR's behavior.
"He's obedient only when one of the people he considers his 'moms' is around. In this case, it's Lucy and Rebecca. At home, he only listens to Gloria. That's why I said he can be annoying. That song played on repeat all day until Gloria came back home," Alex said, lighting a cigarette to relax a bit. "Now imagine listening to the same thing all day, non-stop."
The group thought about it and almost unanimously agreed that they would have dismantled the robot for parts a long time ago. Only Rebecca thought it was perfectly fine.
"I would've taken him apart by now," Dorio said, casting a glance at GIR.
"So would I. On the way here, I seriously considered tossing him into the river. He was singing and trying to dance right inside my backpack until he finally fell asleep. It made it nearly impossible to ride my bike," Alex said, clearly irritated by the memory.
Everyone understood his frustration, while Rebecca looked at Alex as if he was planning to do something terrible to their "baby."
"I won't let you take our little guy apart," she said, standing in front of Alex with her arms spread wide.
Alex smirked. He had no intention of dismantling GIR—the robot would still come in handy, especially when it came time to catch the idiots responsible for Gloria's accident.
"Don't worry, I'm not taking him apart. I didn't waste all that brainpower and effort building him for nothing," Alex said, gently patting Rebecca on the head.
Rebecca huffed and stared at Alex intently. After making sure her "baby" was safe, she turned back to see what he could do. Alex also shifted his gaze to GIR, deciding it was time to begin testing his combat functions.
"GIR, containment mode!" Alex commanded.
Everyone stared at the robot, eager to see what would happen next. Alex pulled out a notepad, ready to jot down important details for GIR's future upgrades. GIR immediately responded to the command: he saluted, and his eyes lit up. Metal cables slid out from his small hands, quickly wrapping around one of the targets.
At first glance, it didn't seem dangerous, until a powerful electric charge surged through the cables, accompanied by a loud crackling sound.
Maine glanced at Alex, curious about how dangerous the robot really was.
"Hey, choom, what voltage does he have?" he asked.
Alex stopped writing and tapped his chin with the pen thoughtfully.
"If I remember correctly, he can cause a short circuit in an entire megabuilding if he goes full power," he answered after a short pause.
Everyone stared at the robot with concern, as it patiently awaited further commands. Maine turned back to Alex, hoping it was a joke.
"You're kidding, right, choom?"
"Not at all. GIR is a children's toy packed with weapons," Alex smirked, giving him a thumbs-up.
The group looked at GIR again, who, despite his adorable demeanor, was a full-blown combat machine. His appearance was certainly misleading.
"GIR, activate turret defense mode!" Alex ordered, narrowing his eyes.
Rebecca's eyes lit up with excitement, eager to see her "baby," whom she had helped create, finally showcase his combat skills. GIR, like a soldier, saluted and began to remove the top part of his dog costume. Once he revealed his true form, everyone saw that underneath the costume, the robot looked quite ordinary.
It seemed the costume was what gave him the cute look everyone loved. However, that cute appearance quickly transformed into something far more dangerous: GIR's arms turned into machine guns, and a flag with a two-headed eagle unfurled on his back.
Alex, who had been taking notes, froze when he saw the flag. He knew that symbol all too well—it was the emblem of the Imperium of Man.
The question was, where had GIR learned about that universe? Alex hadn't had time to check what the robot had been doing on the Net, but it was now clear that GIR had been influenced by videos and games and had somehow become an Ultramarine in the form of a robot dog.
"FOR THE EMPEROR!" GIR suddenly yelled and unleashed a barrage of fire on the targets.
Everyone turned to Alex, waiting for an explanation. Alex just shrugged and said with a smirk:
"Don't look at me like that, it's not my fault he's been watching nonsense online. Well... maybe it is, a little."
But GIR interrupted him, shouting again:
"DEATH TO THE HERETICS! GLORY TO THE EMPEROR!"
Alex sighed heavily, realizing that instead of a combat robot, he now had a fanatical Ultramarine.
"Well, at least his firepower's great," he thought, trying to find something positive in the situation.
The others silently watched this strange behavior from the robot. Rebecca, on the other hand, was thrilled—this was exactly the kind of dangerous robot she had wanted.
"Alright, GIR, that's enough. You'll have more time to shoot at heretics later," Alex called out, bringing the robot back to order.
GIR stopped firing, his arms returned to their normal state, and he zipped up his dog costume again. He now looked as cute as ever, as if he hadn't just been shouting about the Emperor's glory and wiping out heretics moments ago.
"Is that all? Or does he have more?" Maine asked, glancing at Alex, who had returned to his notes.
"There are a few more functions we need to test," Alex replied without looking up from his notebook.
"And what are those functions?" Falco asked, stepping closer and peeking at Alex's notes.
Falco tried to make sense of what Alex had written, but after seeing the chaos in the notebook, he gave up. Alex, meanwhile, thought that there wasn't enough time to test all the robot's features, from defensive to medical, and for now, they would focus on combat.
"GIR, sniper mode!" Alex commanded, snapping his notebook shut.
GIR glanced at Alex with an expression that could only be described as "dumbfounded"—he had just put his costume back on, and now he had to take it off again.
He looked to Rebecca for support, and she quickly nodded her head. Encouraged by her enthusiasm, GIR unzipped his costume once more, this time transforming his arms into a long sniper rifle.
Aiming at the distant target, GIR fired. The recoil was so strong that it knocked him back. Everyone's gaze was fixed on the plasma trail left by the projectile, which, upon hitting the target, caused a small explosion.
Rebecca's eyes lit up even more when she realized what GIR had shot with. She immediately ran to Alex, grabbed him by the shoulders, and, shaking him enthusiastically, began to pry:
"This is what I think it is, right? Is it? Tell me! Quick!"
"Yes, it's a railgun," Alex replied calmly, not paying attention to the shaking he had long since gotten used to.
Everyone who had heard about railguns looked at Alex skeptically. They knew that creating such a weapon required colossal energy.
"Choom, how did you manage to cram that technology into a tiny robot?" Maine asked, nervously chuckling.
"If you know how, anything is possible. Although, to be honest, it's a hell of a complicated technical question that can't be explained in a few words," Alex replied, mentally celebrating that no one had found out about the combination of magic and technology in GIR's design.
Everyone pondered, realizing that explaining such a process indeed couldn't be summed up in just a few words. However, the main question remained—the energy source for GIR.
"If I understand correctly, a railgun consumes a huge amount of energy, so what's the source inside GIR?" Lucy asked, clearly intrigued.
"Given the lack of time and resources, I had to make do with a standard arc reactor," Alex shrugged.
He didn't mention that hidden in GIR's core was an energy crystal comparable to a small sun. Everyone stared at Alex as if he had done something impossible by building a miniature reactor and cramming it into a tiny robot.
"Choom, has anyone ever told you that you're insane?" Maine smirked.
"Why?" Alex tilted his head slightly.
"Because you put an entire reactor in a tiny robot, that's why!" Lucy added irritably. "And you're not worried that someone will find out and try to take it?"
"I won't let them!" Rebecca declared confidently, still clinging to Alex.
Alex laughed. The likelihood of someone being able to steal GIR was negligible. Even if they somehow managed to capture this robot, which was essentially a walking arsenal, Alex had a plan for that.
"They won't be able to, and if they do, then the 'Last Resort' protocol will activate." Alex smiled even wider.
"What's that protocol?" Doriot asked, becoming wary.
"It's simple. If GIR fails to protect those it's supposed to protect, or is captured, it will self-destruct, destroying an entire city block in the process," Alex said, as if that was nothing out of the ordinary.
Everyone felt the tension from his words. Essentially, GIR was a walking bomb, ready to explode if the situation got out of control.
"Don't worry, GIR is strong enough to protect himself. Capturing him is nearly impossible," Alex added, trying to reassure everyone. Although, apart from Rebecca, it didn't seem to inspire much confidence in anyone else. She, on the contrary, thought it was "cool."
"You mentioned some kind of protection protocol," Doriot reminded, glancing at GIR, who was now hugging Lucy's leg.
"GIR has slightly modified three laws of robotics built into him. First: he must unconditionally protect his designated targets by any means. Second: GIR must obey any orders from those targets to the best of his abilities. Third: he can make his own decisions as long as they don't contradict the first two laws," Alex explained, pointing to GIR, who gave a thumbs-up.
"So, GIR will do anything for protection?" Falco asked, glancing at the robot.
Alex raised three fingers.
"That's right. His primary protection targets are Gloria, Lucy, Rebecca, and Valerie. You are in the secondary group. If none of the primary group is around, GIR acts at his discretion," Alex explained.
"GIR operates on the SCP principle: 'Secure, Control, Protect.' Essentially, he is a true defender," he added, pointing at GIR, who was climbing up Lucy's leg to get into her arms.
Everyone nodded, realizing that behind GIR's cute exterior lay dangerous power.
"Well, I have only one impression: looks can indeed be deceiving," Maine smirked, stepping closer to GIR. "I'll be glad to work with you, GIR."
"I thirst to serve the Imperium! For the glory of the Emperor!" GIR proclaimed, saluting.
Maine laughed, not quite understanding which Imperium was being referenced, but finding it amusing nonetheless. Alex frowned slightly, realizing he had overlooked how his robot had started mimicking the ultramarines.
However, it wasn't all that bad. Ultramarines were known for their discipline and loyalty, so for a defender, it could even be a plus.
"He has more functions, but now isn't the time to test them," Alex added with a slight sigh.
"What else?" Rebecca asked, snuggling her cheek against his shoulder.
"First aid mode, but you can't test it right now," Alex said, smiling as he looked at the team.
"Unless someone is willing to volunteer for a bullet in the leg?"
Everyone exchanged glances, but it seemed there were no volunteers. Alex scanned the group for a volunteer, but they all quickly looked away, clearly not wanting to experience how GIR would provide first aid after a bullet wound.
"No, choom, I don't think we should test that right now, considering we have a mission this evening," Maine voiced the collective opinion.
Alex glanced around at everyone, who had begun nodding in agreement. He had just joked about the bullet, not intending to hurt anyone—after all, they were his friends.
"I was just kidding, don't take everything so literally," Alex smirked. "Maybe during the mission someone will get unlucky, and then GIR can show off his medical skills."
The group could only sympathize with the poor soul who might earn the honor of becoming GIR's test subject.
"Well, since we're done with GIR, it's time to check something else," Alex said, shifting the topic to something more enjoyable for him. "My new toy."
"Is it that katana?" Rebecca asked, finally noticing the weapon at his waist.
"Yeah, a gift from Sawada in honor of our friendship," Alex replied with a wide smile.
Lucy rolled her eyes; her "friendship" with Sawada seemed dubious—especially when your friend knocked your teeth out two days in a row under the guise of a magic trick.
But Alex pulled Rebecca off of himself and stepped toward the training ground, heading toward the targets.
"Hey, Becca, you don't mind if I break your targets a little, do you?" he asked, glancing back for a moment.
"Go for it," Rebecca replied with a smile, raising her finger in approval.
Alex nodded and stood in front of the target. Taking a fighting stance, he took a deep breath, focused, and unsheathed his blade with incredible speed, delivering a series of rapid strikes.
It all happened so quickly that the group didn't even have time to follow the movement of the sword—one moment, and the katana was back in its scabbard.
"Now that's speed, choom, you made a pretty quick strike," Maine whistled, admiringly watching Alex.
"This isn't just one strike," Alex clarified, gently pushing the target.
It collapsed into three neat pieces. Everyone froze, as if they couldn't believe their eyes. The thought on everyone's mind was the same: "You must be joking."
Alex simply smiled, looking at the stunned faces.
"I did say I prefer swords over guns," he remarked casually, shrugging.
"If I had skills like that, I'd prefer a sword too," Maine added, still in mild shock.
Lucy once again noticed the strange mechanism on the scabbard and, unable to help herself, asked, "What's that mechanism on the scabbard?"
"I'll show you," Alex replied, moving to the next target.
He placed one hand on the mechanism and the other above the hilt.
"Looks like he's taken another stance," Dori noted.
Everyone nodded, noticing that Alex was no longer holding the hilt. At that moment, he activated the mechanism, and the katana shot out of the scabbard into his hand with tremendous speed. The force of the thrust gave the blade additional momentum, causing the impact point on the target to heat up instantly.
"You've got to be kidding! How much strength do you have to catch a sword flying out like that?" Maine exclaimed in surprise.
"It's all about practice," Alex just shrugged.
"Yeah, right, practice," Dori quipped, smiling. "Catching a sword that shoots out fast enough to heat the metal from friction."
Pilar seemed to come up with another crazy idea and decided to clarify, "Don't tell me you can deflect bullets too."
"Of course I can," Alex replied, demonstratively giving a thumbs up.
"With such weapons and skills, you're already terrifyingly dangerous," Falco noted.
Alex just smirked—this was far from the most dangerous weapon in his arsenal. At the top was still the Demon King's sword, followed by Yamato and Beowulf, and then other toys.
"Have you checked everything?" Maine asked.
"Yeah, that's it for today. The rest will be later," Alex replied with a light smile.
Maine nodded. Today he had seen a lot—from a strange and dangerous robot to Alex's swordsmanship. All of it lifted his spirits and instilled confidence that if the situation became critical, they would still have a chance to fight back.
"Well then, since we're done, we can rest before the mission. Maxim will be at the bar only in the evening," Maine suggested.
Alex nodded approvingly—some people really needed to recharge. He himself wouldn't mind sleeping for a couple of hours. The group headed to the house to rest, and GIR, comfortably nestled in Lucy's arms, was already peacefully asleep, oblivious to his surroundings. Alex followed them, preparing to find a place to lie down.
To be continued...