No announcement. No military presence. Just that faint hum through the atmosphere, the subtle shift in air pressure, and the dock cameras going static.
Drex was already suited when Riley rolled the crawler frame out of the fab bay. Six-legged chassis. Compact upper body. Flamethrower arms already mounted. Thermite launcher installed. The back shell gleamed, matte-black with hex pattern overlays.
Juno climbed into his mech without a word. Shield-spike primed. Crusher fist locked.
No ceremony this time.
Just purpose.
They reached the tower entrance by dawn. No guards. The military hadn’t claimed this one yet.
Three slots on the entry pad.
Drex climbed in. The cockpit sealed with a hiss.
Juno’s mech stepped in next. Heavy. Controlled.
Riley didn’t move.
“You’re staying?” Drex asked over comms.
“Not on this run,” she said. “This one’s yours.”
[ TOWER ENTRY DETECTED ]
Slot 1: Drex
Slot 2: Juno
Slot 3: Empty
Entry countdown: 00:02:00
The platform vibrated as the system locked them in.
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The door opened.
The first chamber was empty.
Smooth floor. Tall ceiling. Hexagonal tiles.
No movement.
[ NO HOSTILES DETECTED – PROCEEDING TO ACTIVE FLOOR ]
Drex’s crawler stepped forward in tight arcs, scanning. Heat signatures flickered faintly in the walls.
Juno followed, shield raised.
The far wall split open, revealing a new hallway—twisting, uneven, sloped downward.
[ FLOOR 2 ENGAGED – CUSTOMIZED RESPONSE ]
Drex paused. “That’s new.”
Juno just nodded. “It knows we’re back.”
The second chamber was wide, like an arena. Stone pillars lined the outer edge. A shallow trench ran through the center, filled with cracked tiles and scorch marks.
Then the doors closed behind them.
The ground shook.
Stone scraped against stone.
From the far side, a figure emerged—twelve feet tall, built from slabs of carved rock bound by glowing veins of molten red. Its head was angular, eyeless. Its arms ended in heavy fists—one of them layered with jagged metal rings.
[ ENEMY DETECTED – CLASS: STONE GOLEM ]
Threat: High
Behavior: Relentless
Objective: Zone Control / Disruption
Drex exhaled. “Alright. Big boy.”
The golem charged.
Faster than expected.
Juno met it in the center, shield raised. The first hit cracked his footing. The second dented his arm plate.
He stabbed with the spike—got in between plates. The golem grabbed his mech by the torso and slammed it to the ground.
“Juno—!”
Drex fired a thermite pod straight into its back. The charge exploded, blasting molten stone sideways.
The golem turned, slow but heavy, stomping toward him.
Drex kicked on the side burners and skittered left, spraying a flamethrower arc across the golem’s leg. The heat disrupted the binding glyphs. It staggered.
Juno stood again. Limping mech, but still in it.
He charged from behind and slammed the crusher fist into the weakened joint.
It broke.
The golem dropped to one knee. Drex didn’t hesitate—he launched another thermite pod point-blank at its core.
It detonated.
The golem collapsed in a pile of scorched rubble.
[ ENEMY NEUTRALIZED ]
Reward: 1x Core Fragment – Element: Stone
Drex moved over and picked up the fragment. It pulsed, heavy in the clamp.
“Elemental signature,” he said. “Feels... alive.”
Juno didn’t answer. His systems were still red across the board.
Another door opened.
A third path, deeper. Darker.
They looked at each other.
Didn’t speak.
And walked forward.