Sophia performed compressions, then tilted Annie's head back to give her breaths, repeating the cycle until Annie's chest began to rise on its own, her heartbeat gradually finding a steady rhythm.
Exhausted and drenched in sweat, Sophia leaned back and anxiously studied Annie's face. "Come on, Annie… breathe," she whispered.
"Status update, Ego?" Zack asked, his voice tight with worry.
"Annie is out of immediate danger, but her condition is still fragile. She's weak, and the oxygen deprivation may leave her disoriented for a while," Ego reported, pausing briefly. "There's another issue. I detected moderate signs of palladium poisoning in her system."
"Palladium poisoning?" Zack's voice sharpened with disbelief. "I've been using MV-01 for years without a problem. How could Annie get poisoned after just a few hours?"
He gently pulled down the collar of Annie's suit, his heart sinking at what he saw. Dark, purplish-black veins snaked from her neck toward her chest—clear evidence of palladium toxicity.
"This is bad," Zack muttered, running a hand through his hair. He knew treatments existed—Ego's database had protocols—but they were working against the clock. Relieving her symptoms had to come first.
He clenched his fists, staring at his sister, who lay pale and still. "Just some chlorophyll juice… that's what we need to start with," he muttered to himself, trying to mask his growing anxiety. But his mind raced: why had Annie's body reacted so violently to palladium? What made her so different?
In just a few hours, the palladium levels in her system had skyrocketed to levels that would take months to accumulate in most people. A faint, strained voice interrupted his thoughts. "Brother…"
Zack turned quickly to see Annie struggling to open her eyes. Her voice was barely audible, her breathing shallow. "I'm sorry… I was flying, and I got so sleepy… so tired… I didn't want to sleep… I was scared… scared I'd crash the armor…"
Her words came out halting and broken. Zack's chest tightened painfully. He knelt beside her, his voice soft but firm. "Hey, it's okay. Don't worry about that. If the armor breaks, we'll fix it—or build a new one. You just need to rest now, okay?"
Sophia stepped forward at Zack's nod and gently lifted the frail thirteen-year-old into her arms. Annie felt impossibly light, almost weightless. As they entered the elevator, Zack's expression hardened. "Ego," he said, his tone commanding, "upload the analysis results."
In the basement, rows of computer screens lit up, streaming data in real time. Zack worked quickly, relying on his high-performance setup since he didn't have fancy holographic displays. The data painted a grim picture. "Now add the red-haired woman's data," Zack instructed. Another screen filled with Erza's brainwave activity.
As Zack compared the two datasets, his frown deepened. The abnormal brainwave patterns in Annie's data were almost identical to Erza's. Of all the people Zack had scanned—himself included—no one else showed anything like this.
"Ego, you see what this means, right?" Zack muttered under his breath.
"Yes, sir," Ego responded. "It strongly suggests that Annie has undergone a mutation."
"Mutation…" Zack repeated, the word feeling heavy in his mouth.
"Ego, could her palladium poisoning be related to this mutation?"
"There's a 97% probability that the mutation is the cause," Ego confirmed.
Zack sighed deeply. If Ego was right, it meant Annie could never use the power armor again—not in its current form. He'd need to completely redesign the reactor system, avoiding any toxic elements like palladium. But without access to advanced facilities, building a zero-point reactor was impossible.
"We'll deal with it later," he decided. For now, Annie would have to stay on the sidelines, helping with logistics like Sophia. After unloading supplies, Zack returned to the basement, now stocked with crates of weapons and ammunition.
"Good thing no one's smoking down here…" he muttered, imagining the disaster that could unfold.
"Sir," Ego interrupted, "Annie is awake and stable."
"That's a relief," Zack replied, though he didn't head upstairs. Instead, he focused on his workbench, pulling out an M134 Vulcan Gatling gun to begin modifications. Four robotic arms disassembled the MV-02 armor, and Zack meticulously worked on each component.
"Let's start with the shoulder-mounted Gatling gun—belt-fed, with an expanded ammo compartment on the back," he mused aloud. "Running out of bullets mid-fight isn't an option."
He grabbed two F2000 assault rifles and mounted them on the arms, scrapping the outdated arm blades. "Blades aren't cutting it against armored targets anymore. But I'll still need a melee weapon for the zombies."
An idea struck him, and he sketched out a saw-chain sword. "Hydrogen-powered, alloy-steel teeth… This'll tear through anything, even a zombie lord."
Next, he turned his attention to area-effect weapons. "Time for a miniature nine-link missile launcher," he said with a grin.
Satisfied, he continued modifying the MV-02, turning it into a hulking war machine focused on raw firepower. Another idea sparked. "Lasers," he muttered, recalling scenes from his favorite movies. "A hydrogen fuel cell might work, though each shot could drain a full cell. Still worth a try."
As the hours passed, Zack's vision took shape. The sleek MV-02 was now a towering, battle-hardened beast. Its matte-black finish radiated an intimidating, war-ready presence. He'd reinforced the chest, back, and shoulders with extra armor to handle the increased weapon load.
The shoulder mounts held an M134 Vulcan machine gun and a missile launcher loaded with nine rockets. Each arm featured an F2000 assault rifle, while a laser cutter was installed at the wrist. For melee, Zack had crafted a massive saw-chain sword, 1.6 meters long and weighing 60 kilograms. It was strapped to the back with a magnetic clasp, ready to swing forward in an instant. At full speed, the saw's teeth rotated at 4,600 RPM, capable of slicing through almost anything.
Annie, meanwhile, had quietly slipped out of bed, sneaking downstairs while Sophia dozed beside her. She hid just out of sight, watching Zack work. Her small fists clenched as she whispered, "I won't hold him back anymore."
Time ticked by as Zack poured his heart and soul into the new armor. The final result wasn't just a suit—it was a monster of war. Yet, as he stared at his creation, Zack murmured under his breath, "This is a last resort. Let's hope I won't have to use it."