Chapter 12: the battle begins
November 17, 2023
The day had begun. The mission had started.
The group had received the final message from Pohu: they would separate into two groups. One would go outside, the other would remain inside the Anthroportica labs. Fatah, Paul, and Vineese were assigned to the outside group. The newcomers—those who had joined the anti-Samuel faction after Willson's death—remained in the labs.
Samuel had gone to the plains below the Blue Ridge Ranges. The same place where Lehros now sat against a rock, his sightless eyes fixed on the horizon, watching a dawn he would never see.
Pohu arrived.
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The Fight
They stood face to face. Ten meters of open ground between them.
Samuel wore the same black uniform he had worn when he manipulated Pohu in the ruined village—but this time, his face was bare. No mask. No disguise. Just the cold, calculating eyes of the man who had set everything in motion.
Samuel raised his pistol and fired. Pohu sidestepped, the bullet slicing through empty air. Samuel adjusted his aim and fired again. Pohu dodged again.
Then the robot closed the distance.
"You will regret!" Pohu's voice crackled with synthesized fury. "You manipulated me through Shometsu. You made me kill. Now I will end this circle of chaos. I will take revenge for every life lost at Colonial Village."
Samuel's expression did not change. He holstered the pistol and drew his hand blaster. A beam of concentrated energy lanced toward Pohu, but the robot was already moving, weaving between the shots.
Behind Samuel, a blur of motion.
Wafa came dashing from the blind spot, its fist aimed at the back of Samuel's skull. Samuel heard the shift in the air. He turned, caught Wafa by the neck, his grip like a vise, fingers pressing into the robot's chassis like he meant to tear its head from its shoulders.
Wafa punched his arm, once, twice—a crack of metal against flesh. Samuel's grip held. Wafa twisted, broke free, and retreated into the smoke.
Pohu advanced. Samuel raised his shield. The robot's fist slammed against the holographic barrier, sending shockwaves rippling through the air. Samuel punched through the shield, his enhanced fist catching Pohu square in the chassis. The robot staggered back, its systems briefly glitching.
They engaged in close combat—a blur of metal and flesh, fists and servos. Pohu landed hits, but Samuel absorbed them. Samuel struck back, and each blow sent the robot reeling. He was faster. Stronger. The cryo-experiment had made him something beyond human.
Wafa came again, this time from the left. Samuel caught it mid-lunge, lifted it bodily, and hurled it into Pohu. The collision was devastating—a screech of tearing metal, a cloud of dust and debris.
Then Nanigenai emerged from Samuel's right.
It moved with fluid precision, its strikes calculated, its speed nearly matching Samuel's. It dodged his counterattacks, slipped past his guard, and pressed its hand against his temple. Electricity arced between them, a surge meant to fry his nervous system.
Samuel did not flinch.
"I was in a project to make me stronger," he said, his voice calm, almost bored. "Fortunately, it eliminated pain from electricity."
He drove his elbow into Nanigenai's chassis, sending it crashing to the ground.
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Alert
Fifty kilometers away, the US government had issued evacuation orders for four villages. The message came directly from Samuel. The president, a man whose corruption ran deeper than anyone knew, had no choice but to comply.
He had stolen one hundred billion dollars from various companies years ago. Samuel had the proof. And Samuel knew how to use leverage.
The president had been manipulated long before the first robot ever powered on.
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The Parking
Two and a half kilometers from the fight, the cars had stopped.
Paul parked his vehicle at the front, a head of everybody else. Fatah, was at the back, following the plan he had made with Wayne, who was in the headquarters.
Paul and Fatah were twenty-five meters apart the members. Far enough to seem separate. Close enough to coordinate.
Fatah's phone buzzed. A newcomer from inside the lab.
"Tensions are rising," the voice whispered. "It could lead to a fight."
Fatah ended the call. He dialed Wayne, the CEO who had always been in the support of Samuel.
"Start the fight," Fatah said.
"Sure," Wayne replied.
The line went dead.
Fatah sat behind the car, pointing his sniper on the back of a member
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Chapter 12 End
To Be Continued