Last Savior

Lucas trudged through the long, narrow tunnel of the bomb shelter, carrying Aurelia on his back and following the female enforcer out. 

Each step he took was uneven, as he mulled over the question: If he confessed to being a human from centuries ago, was he more likely to end up dissected in a lab? Or just written off as some mental case and let go?

Captain Alice seemed oblivious to the fact that overhead, a burly man was crawling along the tunnel ceiling like a gecko, his hooked fingers gripping the rocky surface. He was moving swiftly and silently, closing in on her position.

Ten meters away!

Eight meters!

The towering figure suddenly pounced, lunging toward Lucas below…

But at that exact moment, Lucas was completely absorbed in his own thoughts and had no clue what was happening above him.

The instant the big man was about to drop from the ceiling, Alice barked, "Who's there?!"

Before her words even finished echoing, Alice seemed to blur and reappear beside Lucas, intercepting those outstretched claws. Without hesitation, she raised her fist with a thunderous crack—"Bang!" The sharp sonic boom from the blue glove scraped the air, practically splitting Lucas's eardrums. It was louder than an artillery shell firing. 

This punch packed even more force than what she'd used to demolish granite before, and it felt like the entire space was getting squeezed in a single direction.

"Pow!" Fist and palm collided.

Attacking with only one hand, and with no stable foothold in midair, the muscular intruder took a full-force blow from Alice. His body slammed upward into the ceiling, sticking there for about two seconds as though pinned to a wall, then dropped heavily by Lucas's feet.

Alice, on the other hand, staggered back five or six steps before she managed to steady herself. Her expression turned serious—despite what it looked like, this clash was basically a tie, given he was airborne with no leverage. If the big guy hadn't been injured by that initial impact, it might not have gone so smoothly for her.

"Damn, that's some insane power…" Alice thought. It had been ages since she'd faced someone this strong. Shaking out her fingers to ease the sting in her knuckles, the anger and impulsiveness in her face shifted to cautious alertness. She backed away two steps, never taking her eyes off the attacker, then shouted, "Armor!"

Only the faint echo replied in the shelter: "Armor… mor… mor…"

Captain Alice rolled her eyes. She'd completely forgotten she'd left her armor back with her bike.

Meanwhile, Lucas—alarmed by the giant who nearly flattened him—lowered Aurelia to the ground and focused on the intruder. He realized in disbelief that the man was stark naked, from his tightly clenched butt cheeks to his rippling back muscles, every bit of him roped with muscle.

Lucas blurted out the first thing that came to mind: "Dude… what's with this look? Terminator 4.0?"

The naked man, still facing away, rose slowly. The slam from before didn't seem to have done him any serious harm. He kept his gaze trained coldly on Alice while replying in a flat tone, "I am not the fourth generation."

If Lucas could see the man's front, he'd be yelling, "Holy crap, Schwarzenegger!" because the guy's entire vibe was exactly like a Terminator stepping out of one of those old movies—so much that if Arnold himself stood there, it'd be like gazing into a mirror.

"Number 13!" But across from him, Captain Alice looked like she was seeing a ghost. Her mouth hung open as she pointed at the big man. "Impossible! You were all wiped out! Every 13-series model was destroyed!"

The man called "13" by Alice didn't respond. He simply stood in front of Lucas like an immovable wall, arms hanging at his sides. A staggering aura seeped from him, reminiscent of a leopard about to pounce.

Lucas couldn't be sure what was going on—clearly this unknown naked bruiser and the female enforcer were at odds. Sensing Alice's apprehension, Lucas shrank back a bit more. 

But since the big guy didn't seem too hostile toward him, maybe "the enemy of my enemy is my friend"? The real question was, where had this 13 guy come from?

Lowering Aurelia, Lucas sidled behind the big guy and eyed his bulging biceps. "Uh… hey, Number 13, man. Sorry to bug you, but… do you know Gadget by any chance?"

"Incomplete database… no answer possible," came the same cold reply.

"Database?" Lucas thought, mind in overdrive—so this guy was also some kind of android. Maybe the engineer who built him was an Arnold Schwarzenegger fan? The weird part was how comically small they'd made his junk…

All right. At least #13 was willing to talk, which beat dealing with Alice in full-on war mode. Lucas ventured another question: "So, 13… what are you doing here?"

A pause. Then the man slowly answered, in a halting monotone, "13… assigned… to protect… target… protect you."

Lucas paused, unsure whether to feel overjoyed or shocked. "Uh, is this some cheat code? Or a special perk for travelers?"

By now, Captain Alice had recovered from her initial shock and changed her whole demeanor—her earlier temper and rashness vanished, replaced by a steady, contained focus. 

She took off her sunglasses, revealing a pair of sharp eyes brimming with menace. That dangerous gaze locked onto #13.

#13 said nothing more, only took two slow steps forward, away from Lucas.

The atmosphere in the tunnel heavied like the air had turned to solid mass. Breathing felt tougher.

After those two steps, #13 stood motionless, like a statue, eyes riveted on Alice, yet making no move to attack.

"You're not coming at me? So, Number 13 isn't that big of a deal after all…" Captain Alice narrowed her eyes and eased into a fighting stance. "I'll take you down!" she roared, her cry echoing in the confined space like distant thunder. She rocketed straight at #13, moving so fast she left an afterimage where she'd been.

"Get back," #13 said coldly to Lucas in that same moment.

The fight—had officially begun.