CHAPTER 36: CITY OF SECOND CHANCES

Past the cases of prototype weapons, what the two were led to was a tubular display holding a mechanical, cerulean suit.

"This is the Poseidon M-3. A power suit designed for you, Alexander," Colonel Vice unveiled.

"Woah—a suit made for me? Haha!" The blonde man laughed excitedly.

"Providing greater enhancements than previous suits, it also works to provide pseudo-regeneration, based on recent findings. From my understanding, you’ll be able to give it a test run during your next mission," the Colonel explained.

Each word only seemed to drive Alexander’s excitement like a kid ready to try out a new toy. For Seven, he felt a sense of relief, knowing his friend would be capable of holding his own better.

"As for you, Seven, right over here," the Colonel led the way.

Through a set of doors leading deeper into the private weapons development center, he was brought into an all-white room, fixated with glass panels that housed a single podium. On top of it, kept in place by metal claws, was a silver sphere.

"What is it?" Seven asked.

"In terms of offensive weaponry, your body is likely the strongest weapon on Earth. That is, even if we built one stronger, you would likely be able to adapt its strengths," the Colonel explained. "So, the best solution was developing a support tool."

"What’s it do?" Alexander curiously asked from behind.

At the snap of her fingers, the silver-haired woman issued a command to the dormant object, "Rise and shine, Izo."

With one simple phrase, the digital screen attached to the front of the sphere blinked on, displaying an artificial eyeball that blinked before it hovered up from its podium. The object was no larger than a baseball, hovering itself right in front of the Colonel.

"Good morning, Colonel Vice," the robotic ball replied with a voice like that of a young boy, chipper yet still waking up.

The military woman stepped aside, gesturing the orb towards the young man, "Izo, this is Seven—this is the one you will be assigned to."

He stood there, unsure of what to do as the floating orb flew around him, inspecting him completely.

"Err, hi, nice to meet you—" Seven greeted.

It suddenly stopped right in front of him, its digital eye blinking as if smiling politely, "Nice to meet ya too, Seven!"

"I’m Alexander! Pretty much his best friend, y’know!" The golden-haired giant introduced himself to the tiny robot, aligning his arm around Seven’s shoulders.

"You are?" Seven questioned, blinking as he glanced over.

Alexander immediately looked as though his heart had shattered in his chest, "We fought life and death together, man! That sorta bond—"

"I’m kidding," Seven laughed.

"Oh, right, hah!" Alexander boisterously laughed as well.

Somehow, the tiny robot joined in while the Colonel’s expression remained stoic as if plastered onto her face.

"Izo will be able to provide recon, and importantly be another pair of eyes to watch your back out there," the Colonel explained, tapping her finger against the robot’s exterior.

"I guess that’s useful..." Seven said, trying to see the value in it without dismissing the gift.

"That’s not all. Izo is equipped with an arsenal of features, some utilizing new developments," Colonel Vice furthered. "Izo, flash."

"Flash?—" Seven said in tandem with Alexander.

Without being given a chance to ask, the robot suddenly emitted a bright, blinding light. A gasp left both men’s lips, forcing Seven to shield his eyes.

"Izo, stop flashing," the Colonel ordered.

Just like that, the ocular assault ceased as the robot chipped bounced in the air.

"Just a little trick of mine," Izo said playfully, flying between the two men.

Seven leaned to the right to avoid having it bump into his arm, "I didn’t need that demonstration, thank you."

"Yeah, seriously," Alexander groaned, rubbing his eyes.

"I took you two for hands-on learners. Anyway, Izo will provide you with a robust list of his capabilities if you ask. Make sure to take care of him on the field," Colonel Vice urged, stepping past them with her hands behind her back. "Izo cost four hundred million to develop."

A floral fragrance mixed with that of gunpowder came off her silken locks as she passed.

Seven glanced at the spherical artificial intelligence that hovered over his shoulder before looking back, "This little guy cost that much?"

"Gee, that’s a lot, isn’t it?" Izo remarked.

"Too much," Seven mumbled.

"Hey, now! I’m capable of a whole lot! C’mon, ask me anything! Anything!" The tiny robot egged on, spinning around in front of the uninterested man’s face.

The Colonel already took the leave from the room, leaving the two students of the academy standing in the white room.

Between one another, glances were shared before Alexander presented the first question. From the meaning of life to the number of stars in the sky, endless questions brought one from the man’s lips—

"What was the Colonel’s bust size?" Alexander presented his question to the orb.

"Dude, seriously?" Seven raised an eyebrow.

"What? Just testing what it knows," Alexander shrugged.

"Ninety-three centimeters; F-cup," the robot promptly answered.

Alexander clapped his hands, "Knew it! This little guy might be pretty useful after all!"

"I try my best," Izo responded with a bashful wink.

It wasn’t long after being gifted with new "toys" by the UNED that the squad of young soldiers was called together. Sat in the back of a truck, he looked across at Haoyu, who came not in the form of a drone, but in the flesh.

["Nobody could have predicted at the same what awaited us on the next mission–a chaotic hellscape of many fronts."]

"I still don’t get why we aren’t using Erebus for transport," Alexander complained, leaning his large frame against the black interior of the truck.

"Erebus is still being studied," Haoyu explained without looking up from his laptop, typing away. "Besides that, it’s a deterrent that is needed at the base."

"Not confident in your new gear, Alex?" Lily laughed, kicking her legs as she looked up beside her at the large man.

"Pffft!" Alexander scoffed, slapping the bicep of his cerulean armor. "I’m more than confident I can dispatch some extraterrestrials!"

Seven looked at the spherical robot resting on his shoulder before looking down at his hands, rubbing the black material of his suit together between his fingers. The rhythm his heart thumped at in his chest was a feeling he felt he’d never adjust to, anxiously moving towards the mission zone.

"Alright, to go over it again–the objective is to recover Sector Fifty. The city has been turned into territory for the Fulminare. From our scouting reports, there are multiple alien species that have inhabited the boundaries of Sector Fifty by now," Haoyu explained, turning his laptop around to show a bird’s eye view of the destination.

The ride in the back of the armored truck was somewhat bumpy, leading to light jolts as the wheels moved on the asphalt.

May fiddled with the side compartment of the rifle on her lap, "We’re not the only squad this time, though, right?"

"No, this is a large-scale operation. Our objective primarily focuses on a nest detected within downtown of Sector Fifty," Haoyu confirmed.

"About time UNED makes a move. We won’t get anywhere just playing defense," Shin said, sitting nearest to the doors, cleaning his knives.

"It feels more like delayed defense, if I’m being honest here," Seven spoke up, looking across himself where Alexander sat.

Down a few spots, Shin responded, tucking his knives into the special pouches on his uniform, "Well, I’m not gonna deny that. This hasn’t really felt like an actual war until recently, though–it’s just been the Fulminare conquering our world. It’s about time we show those bastards what messing with humanity feels like."

"Right on!" Alexander pumped his fist up, inadvertently smacking the roof of the truck with a loud "thud."

"Try not to get too excited there," Haoyu quietly reprimanded.

"Err, yeah," Alexander chuckled, pulling his fist back.

While waiting within the transport, Seven glanced at the orb on his shoulder, "Izo, what do you know about Sector Fifty?"

The blank screen on the robot’s front lit up, displaying a smiling face made of white pixels, "Ah, Sector Fifty, formerly known as the City of Second Chances."

"Second Chances?" Lily learned in from the young man’s right.

The little robot continued, rolling on Seven’s shoulder, "It earned the name from being the capital of gambling!"

"Gambling? Sounds like fun," Alexander laughed.

Shin huffed from the end of the seats just as the truck rolled over a bump in the road, "We are not going to be gambling out there. This is a mission–besides, I doubt any of that stuff is even functional anymore."

"You think that’s why they want us to retake this sector? I bet the higher-ups wanna gamble," Lily laughed, kicking her feet as she lightly hit Haoyu’s laptop across from her.

The man in glasses shot a glare at the petite girl, adjusting his frames, "Sector Fifty holds a lot of resources. There are many lost databases within the city, and more so–this is our chance to take something back that was taken from us. We’ll need you with us for that, Seven."

All of a sudden, it felt like all eyes were on him as they looked towards him for his strength. He nodded his head, feeling no second thoughts about accepting the responsibility placed on him.

"Yeah, got it," Seven confirmed.