The four robots exited through a hatch in the aircraft, heading towards where Aiden and his friends were. While they continued talking, unaware of the robots' presence, the robots shrank to the size of a fly as they left the ship.
The robots communicate with each other through waves:
"We are approaching the established range," said one.
"Scanner initiated in three, two, one... active. Scanning for targets, checking target size and age. Range: zero to fifteen years," responded another.
A beep sounded in their units, generating the scan image.
"Five children found," indicated one of the robots.
"Correct that, that's a small man, not a child," said another, referring to Dani.
"Sorry, you're right, four targets observed," admitted the robot that had made the mistake.
"Further ahead, you need to go for a review," said another robot.
The one who hadn't spoken yet triggered an alarm:
"Warning, possible threats. Load and activate stun weapons."
The four robots said in unison:
"Initiating camouflage change to normal form."
Once they were almost in front of everyone, the robots adopted their original form.
"Look, those bastards are leaving!" exclaimed Dani. "They got away with the crystals. Surely Laos used some device to hide them."
"I don't think they got away with it. They lacked the key to activate their machines; they lacked the boy," said Gin to Aiden.
"Yes, that's true," responded Dani, looking up at the ship, sticking out his tongue and touching his lower eyelid with his hand, very pleased.
Gin followed him, while the others wondered what these two were doing. Elena gathered the courage to sincerely apologize to Aiden, but at that moment, they began to hear the sound of machines moving. When they turned to look behind them, they saw how four forms were molded to the size of a tall man, but made of steel; they were the robots transforming into their humanoid form.
"We've come for the children," said one of the robots.
"I knew it, they used that experimental shrinking technology from that crazy Lady," indicated Gin.
"For the children?" thought Eduard.
"No time, protect the children," indicated Ezequiel to Rino and Lidia.
Panic started among the team that was with Aiden, but they could do nothing because the robots fired stun rays at all the adults in the area, making them instantly collapse, including Reia. With her last strength before falling unconscious to the ground, Reia shouted:
"Run!"
Aiden, Elena, Billy, and Maria started running together, trying to escape, but it was in vain. The four robots launched their retractable clamps from their hands, grabbing each of the children and pulling them towards their robotic bodies, which opened to enclose each of the kids inside, like a kind of container. The children began to scream inside the robots, hitting to get out; however, the robots initiated the sequence to calm them:
"Releasing sedative gas," indicated the four men of steel, and the children inside fell asleep instantly.
"Task accomplished," the robots said in unison.
From their backs, they pulled out a kind of rocket backpack and shot towards the moving ship where Laos was, leaving the place with the others defenseless on the ground. The robots reentered through the hatch, and Dr. Laos asked if they had brought what he requested. They replied:
"Quest completed, here is what you requested," and pulled the children out of their robotic bodies.
"Excellent," said the doctor. "Take them to one of the rooms, we have a lot to do."
A smile formed on Laos's face because he was going to fulfill what his father had indicated, and he could even improve it with the new stone he brought. The ship slowly moved away from the place without leaving any trace of where it was going.
Philip, noticing some lights entering Zeus's ship, indicated to the professor:
"Look, professor, some lights have just entered that ship. They came from over there," he pointed to where Podbe's friends were. "There are people lying on the ground. Let's go to them and ask what happened."
"Let's go," said the professor to his assistant.
"Where are you going, professor?" asked Melisa.
"Something came from there and went up to Zeus's ship. We need to find out what it was," indicated the professor.
"I understand," said Melisa. "Let's all go over there. There's nothing else to do here, anyway. Maybe we can find a clue about those people."
The five followed the professor, who, despite his age, moved very well. He was agile for an old man, said Ian, who couldn't keep up with him.
They arrived where the others were and saw Adia, Marie, Ezequiel, Eduard, Gat, Lina, Rino, Gin, and Dani lying on the ground. Next to them was a kind of trash can. It was Tron, which was inactive, recharging energy.
"Who are all these people?" indicated Creg.
"I don't know," said Melisa.
"They're dead," said Ian.
"I don't think so, they're breathing," said the professor.
The five heard a noise. It was Reia, who was starting to wake up and was mumbling Aiden's name.
"It seems she is waking up," said Professor Kile. "Are you okay, young lady?" he asked Reia, but she kept mumbling.
"How are you? What's your name?" the professor asked, but received no response, just sounds from Reia. "Quickly, give me some water, Philip."
Philip, who carried some things like food and water in his backpack, took out a canteen and handed it to the professor. The professor, holding Reia's back, gave her a sip of water. Reia began to cough repeatedly and then opened her eyes. She saw the five people in front of her.
"Who are you? Where is Aiden?" she asked, a bit dazed.
"Aiden? Who is that?" asked Melisa. "Is he your friend or your boyfriend?" she added, inquisitively.
"No, no, he is the boy who was here with me. Then, some metal things came, stunned us, and took him away," she said, upset.
"I saw about four lights that took off from their position and went to Zeus's large ship," indicated Ian.
"Oh no! They kidnapped Aiden again," exclaimed Reia.
"That bastard, I knew it. It was true that he kidnapped children for experiments," said Melisa, upset.
"Relax, you're a bit agitated and dazed from something they did to you, young lady," said Professor Kile to Reia.
Reia tried to take a deep breath to think more clearly. After a while, feeling a bit calmer, she asked:
"Who are you?"
"My name is Kile, Professor Kile, at your service, miss. He is my assistant, Philip, and these two are..." before he could finish introducing them, Melisa interrupted:
"I'm Melisa, the reporter. He is my camera person, Creg, and the guy over there is Ian."
Everyone greeted her.
"You're safe now, young lady," said the professor. "Now, tell me your name."
"My name is Reia. I was with..." she saw the others lying on the ground. "What happened to them? Did you do this to them?" she exclaimed and moved away from the professor's arms.
"No, of course not," said Melisa. "That was Zeus's doing. Luckily, your companions are fine, they just fainted. They must have used some kind of stun weapon."
Reia was relieved to hear that Podbe's and Aiden's friends were alive, just unconscious.
"Well, now that we know each other, what were you doing here?" said Professor Kile.
"You first," said Reia.
"But professor, she should tell us first," said Philip, annoyed.
"It's alright, no problem, calm down, Philip," the professor indicated calmly. "Well, we came to investigate the area when we saw those strange lights in the sky. I asked my friend Melisa to come and cover the scene, and, well, we stumbled upon this whole pandemonium," explained Kile.
"Oh, I understand!" said Reia. She stayed silent for a while, thinking about whether it was wise to tell them everything or just fragments of what happened.
After a moment, Reia began to speak and explained:
"We came to rescue Aiden, a twelve-year-old orphan who had been captured underground by Zeus to experiment on him. They wanted to open a portal from which a guardian named Urion emerged, whom the dog Podbe, turned into a wolf, destroyed. But after all this, those things stunned us and took the four children who were with us."
"Wow! That's pure gold," said Melisa. "With that, we could take down Zeus and shut down his company for all the crimes he's committed. But too bad we don't have machines to record the news, everything broke down when the wolf howled."
"I don't think your interview will achieve anything," said a voice.
"And who are you?" asked Melisa.
"I am Marie, part of a secret organization that protects the world from people like Zeus. And I'm telling you, nothing will happen, we will take care of it."
"But look at you, besides, all the viewers saw the news. There's no way anybody knows," said Melisa. "Also, there are no organizations that do that kind of thing," she added, a bit annoyed.
"You're wrong. Right now, one of the agency's most prominent minds must be working to tie up loose ends and prevent the world from worrying. And if you talk about these things to your colleagues or try to expose this news, no one will believe you, and they'll label you as crazy," expressed Marie very seriously.
"You're wrong. I don't think any of that will happen. I don't believe you. You're talking nonsense," said Melisa. "Everyone will ask me a lot of questions when I get back, and you'll see how I bring all this to light," she said very confidently.
"Well, I already told you. If you don't want to believe me, that's up to you. Only you will know the truth because you haven't been put under the person I mentioned," responded Marie.
"Why are you telling us this, miss?" asked Professor Kile.
"Because you seem like good people, that's why I'm telling you. Maybe I can trust you with these things that happened, but you won't be able to go further. What would happen if everyone found out there were monsters or aliens coming to destroy Earth? It would be all chaos and destruction. That's why the secret must be kept from ordinary people," explained Marie.
The professor analyzed what Marie said and affirmed:
"You're right. We humans who turn against each other every day and fight over territory and trivialities, if we find out about these great discoveries, panic will spread on an abysmal scale, and some groups could take advantage of it."
"Well, thanks for understanding," said Marie. "At least someone gets the delicacy of the situation."
"But Zeus is going to get away with it," Melisa reproached.
"I know, but let our organization handle this," Marie responded with a cold look, as she always did.
"Yes, you're right, young lady," said Ezequiel, who had already woken up. "Look, if you have questions, you can call this number," he handed her his card, which she took and put in her bag. "Don't worry, we're going to save those four kids."
Little by little, the others started waking up, all upset because the children were gone, and talking with the newcomers. Everyone began to get to know each other once everything was clarified. They decided to wait for Tron to reactivate so they could leave the place.
They began to hear a noise in the air, like a helicopter. It was Michele, who had already fixed the device and was able to fly to them. The ship landed, and Michele said:
"Hello, professor."
"Good thing you arrived at the right time," said the professor. "Do you have a way to get back?" asked Kile. "We would take you, but this ship is too small for everyone."
"No problem," said Adia, more composed. "We have a way out of here."
"Well, then, Melisa, let's go. I'll take you home," indicated the professor.
"Alright," said Melisa. "If nothing works and everything explodes, then nothing is useful," she added.
But before getting on the helicopter with the others, she said:
"We'll be seeing each other again," with a determined look, because she wanted to know the truth and she was going to find it, and she was going to make sure the whole world knew it. Even if it was very tough and harsh, she told herself.
The helicopter disappeared into the air, while Creg wondered why they didn't send more military support to the scene. Maybe what Marie said was true, thought Melisa inside the helicopter.
"We must find Aiden and his friends," said Reia to the others.
"You're right, but first we need to go back to the base and bring some things and reinforcements," said Marie.
"Hey, Marie, do you think she can do me a favor?" asked Adia.
"Are you referring to her?" responded Marie.
"Yes, once she put a mental block to make me forget my past, but if I'm going to save the kids, I need to have all my power. Even if it scares me, I must face it," said Adia firmly.
"Alright, I think I can arrange an appointment as soon as we get to the base."
Tron reactivated and greeted everyone. Eduard indicated that he should take out the thing he had given him to keep a long time ago.
"Are you referring to that, sir?" said Tron. "Alright," and from one of his compartments, he pulled out a cube that began to transform into a kind of vehicle, just like the one they had used to get there.
"Alright, everyone on board. We're going to the safe house where Adia was staying, and there we'll call the base. So let's go," said Eduard.
"We misjudged you. We want to stay with you and get your friends back. Besides, we can be useful; we know some things about the company," said Dani and Gin, bowing their heads as if asking for forgiveness.
"Don't worry, I said everyone should get on," repeated Eduard.
And Adia added, "Yes, guys, we forgive you. Besides, you can be of help."
The two happily boarded.
Everyone got in, although Reia was very worried about the fate of her two friends. What will happen to Aiden and Podbe? Where would they be? She wondered as she entered the vehicle.
The vehicle started moving and began to leave the battlefield.
Somewhere, a sound began to be heard:
"System rebooting..."