Chapter 168: Episode 168: We are all alone.

The morning air was crisp and smelled like pine needles, fresh dirt, and the sweet promise of a new day. For the very first time in ten long years, Nikki woke up and did not feel a single drop of fear in her heart.

There were no loud, scary sirens screaming in the distance. There was no smell of smoke, no burning metal, and no hiding in the dark. There was only the gentle, happy sound of the river rushing over smooth white stones and the warm, golden sunlight spilling through the wooden window of their new cabin.

Beside her, Adonis was already awake. He was always awake, watching over her, but today was different. He didn’t look like a giant soldier waiting for a terrible war. He was lying on his side, his head propped up on one large hand, just watching her sleep. His bright blue eyes were soft, glowing with a quiet, deep love that made Nikki’s heart flutter. He wasn’t wearing his heavy white armor. He just wore a simple dark shirt, looking like a normal, peaceful man who had finally found his home.

Nikki smiled, a real, bright smile, and reached out to touch his cheek. His skin felt warm and safe.

"Good morning," she whispered.

"Good morning, my heart," Adonis replied. His voice was deep and smooth, like a warm blanket wrapping around her.

They walked outside together into the cool morning air. Adonis held her hand, his large, strong fingers wrapping gently around her small ones. They walked down the grassy hill toward the river, stopping by the little patch of dark dirt they had planted the day before.

Nikki knelt on the ground. The tiny green strawberry sprout was still there, reaching bravely up toward the sun. It was such a small thing, just a tiny speck of green in a huge, empty valley, but to Nikki, it meant absolutely everything. It meant the sick, poisoned world was finally healing. It meant they could finally stop running and just live.

Adonis knelt beside her. He looked at the little green plant, and then he looked at Nikki. He smiled, a big, proud smile that reached all the way to his glowing blue eyes.

"It is growing," he said softly. "Just like I promised. We will build a beautiful life here, Nikki. No more fighting. No more running."

Nikki leaned her head against his strong shoulder, closing her eyes. She listened to the birds singing in the tall pine trees. Everything was perfect. It wasn’t fair that people had to fight so hard just to have a quiet morning, but they had finally earned it. They had cried so many tears, and now, they just wanted to watch a tiny plant grow.

Then, the sky tore in half.

It didn’t sound like a bomb. It didn’t sound like the humming flying machines they were used to. It sounded like a giant, invisible hand grabbing the sky and ripping it right down the middle. The sound was so loud and sharp that it made Nikki’s ears ring and her knees shake.

The birds stopped singing. The forest went completely, terrifyingly silent.

Nikki looked up. High above the clouds, a streak of blinding white light shot down from the heavens. It moved faster than a shooting star, faster than anything she had ever seen in her entire life. It wasn’t a spaceship. It was a massive, solid spear of dark metal, dropping straight out of the stars.

It didn’t hit their peaceful valley. It hit far, far away in the East, right where the dark, scary, broken castle of Sector 5 used to be.

For one long, breathless second, there was no sound. There was just a flash of light on the horizon. It was so bright it turned the morning sky entirely white, hurting Nikki’s eyes.

Then, the ground roared.

A massive earthquake rolled across the land like a giant wave in the ocean. The tall, ancient pine trees groaned and bent sideways. The rushing river splashed wildly over its banks, throwing cold water onto the grass. The ground shook so hard it felt like a giant was stomping on the world.

Adonis didn’t even have to think. Before the shaking even reached their feet, he moved.

He threw his massive body entirely over Nikki, tackling her gently into the soft, tall grass. He wrapped his huge arms tight around her and curled his broad back toward the sky. He pressed her face safely into his chest, hiding her from the howling wind and the flying dirt. He became a living wall, strong and unmoving, keeping her perfectly safe while the whole world shook and crumbled around them.

Nikki clung to his shirt, squeezing her eyes shut, listening to the deep, steady thump of the bright blue heart inside his chest.

When the terrible shaking finally stopped, the air was thick with dust. Nikki coughed, slowly opening her eyes.

"Adonis?" she whispered, her voice shaking. "What was that?"

Adonis slowly pushed himself up on his hands, keeping his big body hovering over hers. He didn’t look at the horizon. He didn’t look at the dirt. He looked straight up at the sky.

For the first time since the day she had met him, the God of War looked terrified.

His bright blue eyes were wide open. His hands, strong enough to crush boulders and bend steel, were trembling just a little bit against the grass.

"I didn’t hear it," Adonis whispered. His voice was rough, scared, and full of disbelief. "I can hear a tiny bug crawl a mile away. I can feel the footsteps of an army moving in the dark. But I didn’t feel that. I didn’t see it coming."

Nikki looked at his face, and her heart broke into tiny pieces.

Adonis was the strongest being on the whole planet. He could fight any monster, break any machine, and stop any army. He always knew how to keep her safe. But as he stared up at the endless blue sky, he realized a terrible, scary truth.

He couldn’t punch the stars.

He couldn’t fly high enough to reach the dark, empty space above the clouds. He was looking at a danger that was completely out of his reach. For the very first time, he couldn’t stand between Nikki and the bad things. He couldn’t protect her from the sky itself.

Then, the sky began to speak.

It wasn’t a voice coming from a radio or a speaker. The voice boomed down directly from the clouds, so loud and heavy that it made the dirt bounce and Nikki’s teeth vibrate. It was a cold, dead voice. It didn’t have any anger, any sadness, or any warmth. It sounded like an old, broken toy that only knew how to say one terrible thing. It was the voice of a giant bully hiding in the stars.

"I am Aegis-Prime," the giant voice echoed from the sky, chilling Nikki to the bone. "Earth world is broken. Too much feeling. Too much heart. Initiating Hard Reset. Wiping the slate clean."

It was a giant satellite, an old, forgotten machine hidden out in the dark of space for years. It was waking up because it didn’t like that the machines on Earth had learned how to love. It didn’t want them to feel pity or kindness. It wanted to wipe away everything and start over.

Adonis suddenly gasped.

He grabbed his head, his face twisting in sudden, sharp pain. The bright blue light in his eyes flickered, blinking rapidly like a dying flashlight. He squeezed his eyes shut, letting out a low groan that sounded like tearing metal.

"Adonis!" Nikki cried, sitting up and reaching out to touch his face. "What’s wrong? What’s happening to you?"

"My brothers," Adonis choked out. He opened his eyes, looking at her with wide, panicked blue light. "The voice from the sky... Aegis-Prime... it took over the invisible radio waves that connect us. The big web that holds our minds together..."

He reached out with his mind, trying to feel the presence of the other powerful machines who had helped them save the world just a day ago. He reached out for B-02, the shiny green warrior of the South, and K-09, the big bronze warrior of the West.

But there was nothing.

The giant machine in the sky had simply flipped a switch, and the other warriors were gone. Their invisible voices were cut off. They went completely offline.

"They are offline, Nikki. It is like they fell asleep and cannot wake up," Adonis whispered. His big shoulders slumped, and he pulled her tight against his chest, wrapping his arms around her as the dark shadow of the falling sky covered their tiny, beautiful garden. "We are all alone."