The golden elevator doors slide open as Boa, Yunbam, and Jen step out into a vast industrial workspace. All around them, robots are hard at work — forging metal, typing rapidly on computer terminals, analyzing data on holographic screens, hauling heavy materials, and scrubbing the floors clean.
Suddenly, a dozen red robots wearing caps dart toward them, eyes flashing in red alert. Boa and the group charge forward, slicing through the hostile bots one by one with quick precision.
"I never knew there was such tech right under the Undercity," Jen says, looking around in awe.
"There must be a noble involved," Boa replies. "Someone's giving Otter access to these kinds of resources."
They press forward, weaving through the chaos of the bustling facility until they arrive at a massive metal gate. Just then, a giant red robot descends from the ceiling. Multiple arms emerge from its frame, each brandishing a different weapon.
"Together now!" Boa shouts.
The team roars as one and launches a synchronized assault, smashing the towering machine straight through the heavy gates.
The massive robot crashes across the floor and explodes in a burst of fire and sparks. Through the thick smoke, a dozen drones emerge, their lights blinking as they lock onto the intruders.
Jen and Yunbam spring into action, weaving through the chaos with lightning-fast speed. They dodge the drones' gunfire, dismantling the machines one by one in a synchronized dance of destruction.
As the smoke clears, Boa slams his weapon into the final drone, bringing it down in a shower of sparks. The path ahead becomes clear — a glowing glass cube stands in the center of the room. Inside, a man rapidly works across multiple digital screens. Just beyond him, Otter's half-cybernetic body hangs suspended, connected by numerous tubes that feed into a radiant nova core. The core pulses with light as its energy flows directly into Otter's body.
The man in the cube stops typing and mutters, "Otter, at this rate, I can't afford to keep working. These people are getting in the way."
More red robots burst through the doors behind them. Yunbam and Jen turn to hold the line, bracing for another wave of attackers.
Boa charges ahead toward the glass cube.
"Forty percent recovery is good enough," Otter growls. "Launch Project Crab!"
The man hesitates. "But Otter, Project Crab is unfinished. There's an eighty-eight percent chance of failure."
"We don't have time for stats!" Otter snaps. "Just do it!"
The man sighs and begins tapping frantically on his digital console. As Yunbam and Jen continue fighting off the red robots, Boa reaches the glass cube and slams his bat against it repeatedly. The surface doesn't even crack.
"Nova glass," Boa mutters. "This bat won't do."
Suddenly, the digital screen flashes: Project Crab – Initializing. Near Otter's suspended body, the floor begins to split open, revealing a massive crab-shaped mech crawling out from beneath. Robotic arms descend from the ceiling, detaching the tubes from Otter's back and lifting his body into the air. He screams in agony as he's installed onto the mech's back, nova energy crackling through his body and into the giant robot.
Boa watches the digital screen: Fusion Complete.
Otter lets out a twisted laugh. "This body is much better! I can sense all the data around me now. I finally put data conversion to use!"
He raises his arms, and digital pixels swirl in the air, transforming the floor into a sea of shifting light. As the pixels spread, the floor collapses beneath Boa, Yunbam, and Jen, dropping them into a swirling vortex.
They crash onto a glowing surface made entirely of data. In a flash, the pixels rearrange into a massive white room, eerily sterile and digital.
Otter crash-lands before them, his mech legs humming with energy. "You fools think you can just barge in and kill me again?!"
A digital screen flickers to life nearby, showing the man from the glass cube. His tone is impatient.
"Otter, hurry and get rid of them. Our main project has already been delayed enough by your little revenge arc."
Otter snarls. "Shut up, Basil! The project failed because these rats killed me! Focus on a Plan B!"
Boa, Yunbam, and Jen draw their weapons, readying themselves as Otter's crab legs begin to hum. Cannons extend from each limb, locking onto the group. Otter's eyes glow as he attempts to activate data convergence once more — but nothing happens.
Basil's voice echoes again. "Otter, like I said, Project Crab isn't complete. You can't overload it with data convergence. You've already used too much building this room."
Otter hisses. "Then this will have to do!"
He charges forward, cannons blazing as red lasers rip through the air. Boa deflects the blasts with quick swings, while Yunbam and Jen dodge and sprint forward, closing in for the fight.
They strike at Otter's crab-like body, their weapons slicing across the armored shell. Sparks fly, but the damage is minimal. All the while, they weave and dodge as the massive crab legs slam down with brutal force.
"Kid, you're amazing!" Jen shouts to Yunbam, barely ducking a claw swipe. "You can even keep up with me at this speed!"
"After Father died... and Boa's speech..." Yunbam yells back, eyes burning with determination. "I feel like I can do anything!"
Suddenly, a bat spins through the air and slams into Otter's face. The impact sends his head snapping back, a visible crack forming across his metal forehead.
Otter recoils. "What was that?!"
His eyes lock onto Boa, who leaps onto a crab leg, then launches himself into the air. As he soars upward, he catches the returning bat in midair.
"How can one human generate that much power in a single throw?" Otter growls. "It's almost like—"
His eyes widen as he watches Boa's silhouette shimmer, momentarily morphing into the towering figure of Crank — a clear symbol that Boa's strength is matching Crank's.
"Of course..." Otter gasps. "They must have bonded. No wonder they call you the Dragon Slayer of Honor! You truly can adapt to anyone's style — matching their speed... and their power!"
Boa descends like a meteor, bat in hand. With a mighty roar, he slams it down onto Otter's crab shell, the impact blasting Otter across the white digital floor, sparks and metal debris scattering in every direction.
Otter's main body begins to flicker with golden energy, unstable and radiating with power. From inside the glass cube, Basil's eyes widen in alarm.
"You can't use the Nova Core while inside Project Crab!" he shouts. "You know that'll—"
He stops mid-sentence. The truth hits him.
Otter is at his limit.
There's no plan left, no strategy. This is his last resort — a desperate bid to destroy everything.
Basil slams his hands on the console. "Boa, you need to stop him now! He's going to blow everything up!"
Jen glances back at the digital screen in disbelief. "Wait, are you switching sides?!"
"I don't have a choice!" Basil snaps. "He's going to ruin all of my hard work — everything I've built! Take him out now!"
Boa rushes forward, flanked by Jen and Yunbam. They strike with everything they have, ripping chunks of metal from Otter's crab body. Boa slams his bat against Otter's glowing body, but the blow ricochets off.
Each hit bounces back, useless. Otter's main body is glowing too brightly now, a radiant shield of unstable nova energy protecting him.
Meanwhile, inside the glass cube, Basil's hands fly over his digital keyboard, sweat beading on his forehead. He searches for any solution, any override—until something flashes on his screen:
"Compatible Soul Detected."
He quickly brings up a live feed of the white room. Boa and Jen are still locked in combat with Otter, but Basil zooms in on Yunbam.
"Activate Spirit Lenses!" he commands.
The screen changes to green and white, revealing the ethereal plane. Floating beside Yunbam is a bright, burning soul — radiant and untethered.
Basil's fingers move fast.
Mechanical arms descend from the ceiling into the white room. They lock onto Yunbam and lift him into the air. Boa and Jen are too focused on Otter to notice.
Yunbam struggles against the grip, shouting, "Hey! Let me go!"
As the ceiling opens and Yunbam reaches the floor where Basil is at, Basil then speaks through the comms. "If you want to save your friends, you'll have to listen! Don't fight back — I'm trying to help!"
Yunbam breathes hard but slowly calms down. The arms carry him still, directly in front the machines that are holding the nova core.
A massive tube then comes out from the machine, beginning to pull the air around Yunbam in a heavy vortex. The robotic arms keep him still.
"What are you doing?!" Yunbam yells.
"The only thing that can save us right now!" Basil shouts back.
With a loud popping sound, the giant tube releases a blast of digital sparks. A flaming soul materializes inside — burning bright with energy. It rushes through a digital conduit, traveling straight toward the Nova Core.
The particles around the core begin to swirl violently, spinning with renewed chaos as energy surges through the system.
Suddenly, the ceiling splits open.
From above, a massive robotic bird descends, its wings humming with power as it lands just in front of Yunbam.
Yunbam then turns to see several worker robots push in a massive case through the broken gates.
Yunbam turns to look at the machine containing the Nova Core, eyes wide as the glowing soul merges into it. The worker robots open the massive case they dragged in and pull out a humanoid robot body. They quickly connect it to the machine, attaching several tubes into ports along its back.
The Nova Core pulses with radiant light, and its energy surges through the connected tubes into the robot. Yunbam, still trying to make sense of everything, takes a cautious step forward.
Suddenly, the robot's eyes flicker open.
Without another second, it disconnects itself from the tubes, steps forward, and gently pats Yunbam on the shoulder. Then, without saying a word, the robot leaps into the air and fuses with the massive robotic bird that had descended earlier.
From the glass cube, Basil gasps.
"What the?!" he exclaims. "Fusion success rate at 89%?! Does that mean... the soul type actually matters for a better success rate?!"
Now combined, the robot flares to life, spreading its colossal wings. Nova energy floods through its body, lighting up every circuit.
Meanwhile, back in the white room—
Boa and Jen move in perfect sync, their attacks relentless. With a combined roar, they swing their strongest strikes together. Their weapons clash into Otter's glowing form, shattering the radiant shield surrounding his core.
Their combined attack pierces into Otter's chest.
Sparks burst. Metal shatters. The glowing energy dims.
Jen takes a breath. "We did it!"
Boa glances around, concern creeping into his voice. "Where's the kid?"
Before they can process anything, Otter suddenly begins to laugh — the sound mechanical and broken.
"Blast it all... with you slum rats!!!" he shouts.
His body flickers gold once again — but this time, it's faster, more erratic, unstable.
Jen shields her eyes from the blinding light. "Are we too late?!"
Boa shields his face too, watching in horror as energy erupts from Otter's fractured body.
"He's going to blow!" he mutters.
"BOA!" Jen screams as she throws her arms around him, bracing for the end.
Then—
Waves of data pixels surge in, swallowing the room in a digital storm. The white environment collapses into raw data, forming a protective sphere around Otter as he explodes.
The blast is massive—but contained.
The pixel sphere holds firm, absorbing the explosion and reducing its radius. Boa and Jen blink, stunned as data pixel clatter around them. When the data dome finally breaks apart, all that's left is the scattered remains of Otter's broken body.
The data pixels swirl gently and carry Boa and Jen upward.
They land softly on the upper floor, where Yunbam and Basil are waiting. In front of them, the winged robot kneels on the floor, sparks flying from its damaged wings as they fall apart.
Boa and Jen stare as Yunbam approaches the robot, eyes filled with emotion. He wraps his arms around it and whispers:
"Father..."
Jen's eyes widen in shock. "Wait… what?!"
Boa nods slowly, just as he turns to glass cube . Basil stands there, arms crossed, wearing a smug expression.
"Thanks to my incredibly fast brain," he says through the comms, "I managed to save you all—and myself."
He exhales and then adds, "Well… where do we begin?"
Boa narrows his eyes.
"Basil Platinumgrey… one of the exiled nobles."
Basil chuckles as he adjusts his coat.
"After my exile, I began planning my revenge against the noble houses. I teamed up with Otter—he had power, wealth, and control of the Undercity. While he gathered the resources, I built the army."
Boa takes steps towards the glass cube.
"An army of powerful robots to rebel against the nobles… Not a bad idea. But that would've taken decades of work."
"True," Basil nods. "But Otter managed to acquire a Nova Core through one of his noble contacts. That accelerated everything. We even created a Plan B in case any of us dies—Project Soul."
"Even in death," Basil explains, "our souls are retrieved and embedded into compatible robotic vessels. But these aren't your average machines since it took tons of resources and money to build them so it's only natural that they are strong. You should know since you've already faced one yourself. "
Basil's smile fades slightly.
"Also to answer your question earlier young lady, Yes I swapped sides. Otter let his emotions cloud his judgment. He was too fixated with the ones who killed him, he snapped and tried to destroy everything we've worked so hard for. Well if that was me, I'd have moved on, stayed focused. But that's the difference between a former noble and an ex-commoner. His emotions outweighed his logic."
Jen steps forward, glaring.
"So what about Wade? You put his soul into this thing?"
Basil nods.
"Yes. Souls are difficult to find—they usually linger near haunted places or near their corpses. But Wade's soul remained near this boy." He gestures to Yunbam.
"I only took advantage of that bond. The Nova Core can only contain two souls at once. One was Otter and now, it holds this Wade of yours."
Jen steps toward Wade's robotic form. She gently hugs the metal frame.
"So you were the one who saved us…"
Wade's robotic eyes flicker weakly. His voice, if it can be called that, emerges only as distorted electronic sounds.
Basil sighs.
"These bodies are powerful, but not perfect. Otter's was superior—but he overloaded it, exceeding its limits. This one," he nods toward Wade's frame, "is a slightly inferior version, but it'll do. It can't speak properly, but it still functions."
He continues,
"Project Crab and Project Bird were prototypes to enhance these vessels, but neither was completed. Still, they performed when it mattered." He rubs his temples.
"Well… I've already said too much to delay this work of mine. You can all leave now. I still have a mountain of work to do."
Boa steps forward and extends his hand.
"Then let me take Otter's place. Let's work together. My goal is simple, to make the slums a better place. Also you should already know the story behind me and the nobles. We can help each other. Take them down together."
Basil raises a curious brow as he steps out of his glass cube.
"How exactly would you help me?"
Boa grins.
"My loyal Boas and I will gather the resources you need. In return, if any of my Boas fall, you'll bring them back with Project Soul. You'll get your army, I'll change the Slums."
Basil's expression shifts into a wide smirk. He grabs Boa's hand and shakes it firmly.
"Since you're more famous than Otter ever was and far more stably minded, I guess it'll be alright, okay Dragon Slayer of honor, let's take them down together!"