They tried to run back to the direction where they came from, but it keeps looping. They kept running in a straight line, encountering 3 similar chambers. The ran straight for 15 minutes on the hole, but nothing. Like someone or something is toying with them.

Lyka: This is going nowhere…

Camilla: We’ve been running for how long? And in the same direction! What in the world is going on! There’s no illusion magic or spell and yet we’ve been experiencing this!

Akino: Calm down, geez…

Alexa: Can we try the other direction?

They tried to go on the opposite direction, and they saw an elevator. They wondered if that elevator was there before.

Lyka: Does this lead to that core-thingy again?

Camilla: Core-thingy?

Alexa: Something like a supercomputer stuff the Institution guys keep in their buildings.

Akino: There’s one before, but we accidentally activated its self-destruct mechanism…

Alexa: Wait, what?!

Camilla: So, we’re not going in there, right? RIGHT?

Akino: I’m sorry, but we’ve got no choice…

They entered the elevator. Akino hacked through the control panel, and it went down. She tried to look again with her x-ray but failed to see how deep the place is.

The elevator stops, the door opens, and they were shocked on what they saw. A well-lit area, pull of green plants, like a greenhouse. They could see peas, mustard, spinach, oranges, watermelons, and more. They could see also small octopi drones tending to the plants. The drones seem to ignore them even when they just carelessly touch it.

Akino: This place… is livelier compared to the first one…

Lyka: They… look cute…

Camilla: Never saw this kind of advanced drone tech before…

Alexa: Hey Aki, can you hack these drones?

Akino: Wait, let me try it…

The drones flew away from her. She tried to move faster, but they kept on managing to escape, and they hid on a vent. Akino tried to hack through by having her hair-wires connect to the vent wall.

Akino: There’s… nothing... how is that possible?

Lyka: Nothing?

Alexa: What do you mean?

Akino: No logs, no timetables, not even the slightest info when these things were made or when they went operational.

Camilla: There should be a ‘backdoor’ to access them, right?

Akino: I tried it, still nothing.

They instead investigated the whole place. Lyka and Alexa went together to look at the plants, while Akino and Camilla tried to find any control panels, or anything connected to a computer.

Akino and Camilla found a small trap door on the ground, but as they were about to open it when Alexa shouts their names. The two hurriedly went to Lyka and Alexa’s location, finding a decapitated head of a child lying on the soil of the greenhouse.

It is unclear, but the head seems to belong on a male child, Caucasian, about 6 to 8 years old. It is fresh, like it’s just been cut minutes ago, but there’s no blood. Both Lyka and Camilla were stunned on the sight of the head, speechless, confused, and trembling. Alexa was about to touch the head when an octopi drone took it, sliced the forehead vertically, revealing an undamaged brain. The drone then spliced off a piece of the brain and placed it on the soil, then it fired some sort of a ‘laser’ on where it ‘planted’ that piece of brain. A plant suddenly grows, but it’s all red in coloration.

Confused, fazed, and mostly filled with an eerie feeling, the four girls watch the drone chop more flesh from the exposed brain of a decapitated head. They stared at it, for seconds, and noticed that the face of the child is grinning, with his eyes wide open.

Lyka was about to puke on the sight but manages to stop it, however Camilla didn’t. Akino was upset and she just shotted the head and the drone with her arm shotgun.

Akino: Let’s go…

They left and entered the trapdoor that Akino and Camilla saw earlier. A ladder, leading downward. Akino went in first, a block door at the bottom was on the way so she kicks it down, revealing another well-lit room.

Akino: It’s not that deep, huh?

Akino let go on the ladder bars and drops straight down.

Lyka: Aki, everything fine in there?

Akino: Yeah! You jump down in here!

The other three jumps down, and when they looked around, they found themselves in a small cubical room of white floor and walls. A huge door is in front of them, only a door. No buttons, nor control panels. Just a huge white door.

Akino: Get ready.

They took an offensive stance. Lyka conjured her greatsword and Camilla summoned her lance. Akino and Alexa went to the door, and they slowly opened it.

Another room with a long metallic walking platform in the middle, they saw hanging small glass pods and at the bottom was some machinery where they saw drones carrying headless bodies being thrown and crushed. The pods have decapitated heads in it, different genders of ages 6 to 13 years.

They walked down the walking platform and noticed that the heads inside the pods have opened eyes that follows them. This made them more cautious, and terrified.

Camilla: Ca – can we go back now?!

Akino: And get again in a loop? Better get the answers in here than waste our time there.

They walk cautiously, close together, and ready once things go sideways. They walked, straight to another door at the end of the walking platform while the heads in the glass pods were grinning at them.

Lyka: This is freaking-freaky-creepy...

Akino: Are – are you trying to cuss?

Lyka: Uhm… uhh…

Alexa: Come on, Aki! She’s trying her best!

Akino: It’s… kind of cute…

Lyka: Re – really?

Camilla: Really? Now?

Alexa: The atmosphere is kinda tense, you know?

Camilla: Fair point…

While they were talking, Alexa noticed that something wet dropped on her nape. She looks up and the ceiling was now covered in black fluids.

Alexa: Aki! They’re on the ceiling!

The machines dropped down. Three of them: two of which are the same they’ve encountered earlier carrying a plasma rifle, and a huge one that is covered in heavy metal plates.

Alexa turned herself a bit bigger and muscular to match up the bigger machine. Camilla was surprised upon seeing that, but she gets herself composed, swung her lance, and readied to attack the other two.

Alexa: I’ll block their attacks, you do the piercing thing!

Camilla: Got it!

Alexa: Aki! Go and get the door open! We’ll follow you once we’ve fended them off nicely!

Lyka: Be careful!

Akino: You better take care of my kid, Camilla.

Camilla: She’s the one bulletproof here!

Alexa began engaging the huge machine, while Camilla stands behind her trying to reach the other two by reaching out her lance. The two exchanged blows, Camilla warded off the other two using her magic and managed to damage their rifles first, but they plunged themselves towards her. Alexa reacted quickly by grabbing the huge MC-00’s body and swung it to make fall off the platform. They two light MC-00 fell and gets crushed by the machineries at the bottom, but the huge one was able to hold itself on the handrail, and it jumps back to the platform again.

Alexa: Hey, go with Akino and mama.

Camilla: What about you?

Alexa: I got this.

Camilla: Trying to act cool, huh?

Alexa engaged the huge MC-00 for the second time. They’ve been exchanging blows, so strong it’s creating wind currents and shattering the nearby glass pods. Camilla didn’t run away, but instead rushed her lance towards the machine’s torso. It didn’t pierce the metallic chest of the unit. Alexa looked at Camilla, and they nod in unison before the rushed towards the MC-00 to take it down.

On the other part, Akino was hacking through the door while Lyka was watching over her. The walls near the door began oozing with the same black liquid. Lyka raised her right hand and casts magic flames on the stained wall. It works, decreasing the amount of the black fluids on the wall, but MC-00 units persisted even their hands are the only thing passing through that black stain. The black fluid oozes back, enabling the whole bodies of the machines to manifest, but Lyka allowed it. She conjures her greatsword and postures to strike them.

Lyka: How long are you going to open that?!

Akino: A bit more seconds!

Lyka swings her sword, destroying the machines. Other came out of the floor, but she punches through their chest with her left bionic arm. She didn’t notice another two coming out of the ceiling, but Akino was able to shoot a super-hot laser through their heads, obliterating them.

Lyka: Thanks!

Akino: Welcome! Tell them I’m about to open the door!

Lyka shouted at the two who were still engaging the huge unit. Alexa just punched the machine hard, making it dropped down on its knees and Camilla thrusting her lance to its cervical area which somehow immobilized the machine. The two rans towards them as the metallic platform began covering itself in black goo and more MC-00 units popping out of it.

Akino opens the door, all of them ran inside, they shut it closed, and Akino welded it. They could hear the machines banging the door. Akino created a huge shield on her arm and blocked herself, making them safe if the machines decided to shoot them with their plasma rifles. But they didn’t. After 5 seconds of the banging sounds, the machines stopped. It went silent. They’ve been focusing on blocking the door that they didn’t realize where they are.

A dome like room, similar to where the quantum-core is located in the previous facility they’ve found. Nothing is at the middle, only dim lights coming from the ground lights was making the room a lit.

Akino: A core should be at the middle, but whatever…

Camilla: A core?

Lyka: The brain thingy of this place, I guess?

Alexa: But if it’s not here, then how are we supposed to shut this place down?

They tried to look around. From top to bottom, left to right, all around that dome room. The only thing they could see clearly was the door where they came from before, and the dim light bulbs on the floor.

Akino went to the middle pedestal where a core was supposed to be placed. There’s a hole, filled with black liquid. It ripples, and when she looks up there’s another stain of black stuff right on top. Arms went out of that gooey pool on the ceiling, pulling itself out and revealing a monstrous being: lots of human bodies being conjoined into a huge lump that has tens of arms and feet protruding out of it. The being is similar to the fleshy-human meatballs (as Alexa calls it) but it has human skin, doesn’t have any hollow faces, and some copper wires are also connected to its main body which extends beyond the black liquid pool on the ceiling where the being is still cling on.

Camilla: Wha – WHAT IS THAT?!

Lyka: Aki! Should I burn its soul like last time?

Akino: Yeah! You two go and distract it! I’ll go with Lyka.

Lyka: Got it!

Alexa: Be careful!

The four splits, Akino went with Lyka who’s preparing a spell to attack the being. Alexa and Camilla tried to engage the monster, but it manages to grab Camilla’s lance as she’s thrusting towards it.

Alexa: Camilla! Let go of it!

Camilla lets the lance to be taken away, but the being can stretch its arms and was able to grab Camilla’s leg. Camilla screamed loudly for help. Alexa dashes through and tried to cut the arms, but the being remanifests more arms, enabling it to grab the two.

Akino: Lyka! Hurry!

Lyka: I can’t! If I blast it with my spell, Alexa and Camilla will get caught in it!

Akino: We’ve got no choice… we’ll handle this with our bare hands!

Lyka: Got it!

The two immediately dashed towards the being. With Akino’s enhanced plasma arms and Lyka’s greatsword, they were able to cut the arms of the monster and free the other two. But as soon as the arms were cut off, it morphed into a metallic material, and each turned into an unarmed MC-00 unit.

Alexa: Now we know where the machines came from!

Camilla: Tha – that doesn’t make any sense! That’s fucking flesh! A human flesh!

Lyka: I’ll cast my spell now! Everyone, take cover!

Akino went in front with her arms turned into wide metallic shield that blocks the charging MC-00 units and the extending arms of the fleshy being. Lyka poses, raises her right hand and a magic circle appears underneath them.

Lyka: Abyssal Flame!

Blue flame engulfs the whole area. The MC-00 units started to melt due to the sheer heat, and the fleshy being stops moving as its whole-body char.

Camilla: Is it dead? It’s dead, isn’t?

Alexa: Don’t jinx it!

Akino: Can you two shut up for a moment?! Lyka, how is it?

Lyka: I’m not sure… the machines melted away, which is I intended… but that one just got burnt.

Alexa: Aki, poke it.

Akino: Why don’t you do it?

Lyka: If it has a soul, then it should be done by now… but I didn’t feel anything in it.

Camilla: Wait a minute, is this some kind of an exorcism?

Lyka: Exorcism? What is that?

The burnt being suddenly moves, startling the four girls. The fleshy being suddenly scratches itself, grotesquely and violently itching the skin until the flesh is being removed. Torn muscles, intestines, and other guts were being removed intensely just by scratching itself.

Lyka and Camilla gags at the sight of the horrendous being seemingly hurting itself. The being exposes its true innards: a metallic framework and a core with a huge red circular light. The other fleshy parts started to fell like dried leaves, and another form of the being was an abstractive-many-legged spider with a circular head and a single red eye.

Akino: Now wonder it doesn’t have a soul, it’s the core that we’re looking for!

Camilla: Th – that’s the core?!

COMPUTER VOICE: Institutional assets detected: HQC-31, HQC-32, HQC-101. Protocol 53-OMEGA still under effect, subjugating rouge assets.

Alexa: Wait, subjugate?!

The metallic arms of the newly formed being extends like rubber and tries to grab Akino, Lyka, and Alexa. AKino managed to block all of its arms.

Akino: AIM FOR THE CORE!

Everyone else tried to attack from a distance. Lyka and Camilla used their magic, Alexa used huge porcupine like spikes and threw it, and Akino turned her arms into rifles and manifested some mini-missile launcher on her shoulder. Before their attack hits, the being covered itself in black liquid which expanded all across the room, swallowing all of them. It happened so fast, they couldn’t able to react on time.

Akino: (Lyka! Alexa!)

Akino tried to contact them through their telepathic connection, but she couldn’t. She feels like she’s drowning, or endlessly falling while losing her breath. She closes her eyes, composing herself, and believing that she might see a way once she reopens it.