Chapter Text
“Where… am I?” Olivia muttered as she stood up. Oh, this better not be Hell.
Olivia hardly got a chance to cover her eyes before a blinding light filled the black void surrounding her.
Memories of what happened just mere moments before quickly rushed back to her as she slowly creaked open her eyes to see ahead of her.
A distant wall that she thought had been empty space split in two — Olivia’s breath hitched as she saw a figure coming from the light in the split. For a fleeting, stupidly hopeful moment, she thought it was her uncle.
But as the figure got closer, she realized it was much bigger than Captain Tanaka.
She jumped back instinctively, searching around for Hero Force 1. But all she could find was black infinite space. Wherever she was, it was entirely unlike Earth.
A whirring sound echoed through the void, freezing Olivia in her tracks.
The figure loomed over her. It gleamed in the unnaturally white brightness, its metal exterior a familiar shade of blue.
It was a Robo.
“Buddy?” She whispered, but she knew it wasn’t them. It was too tall, its eyes —face plate?— so unlike the round innocence of Buddy’s. They were flat and a startling crimson compared to the gentle blue of the smallest Robo.
Olivia stumbled back slightly, craning her neck to get a good look at the still Robo. She expected a cadet to pop out of its chest hatch any second, but the robot only stared at her. Almost like it was thinking, waiting for the girl to do… something.
Olivia exhaled sharply. “Hello? I… uh. The Sharg Queen… I pushed it through the black hole that mop— that Stanford made.” She explained, hoping that the Robo would understand and that someone would come and tell her what the hell was going on.
Had someone managed to rescue her from the black hole? Was she alive? It seemed impossible, but how else would there be a Robo here? And what was here, exactly?
The Robo jolted forward from their frozen position, scaring Olivia. She was on edge, sure, but she couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed as they knelt in front of her.
They peered at her, their eyes bigger than her whole body. Olivia’s own eyes widened— this was the largest Robo she’d ever seen. It made her feel exposed, so tiny, so breakable.
An unjustified feeling, though. The Robos were on the humans’ side, after all. But it did little to settle her unease.
Another whirring sound came from the robot as they reached their hand out towards her.
She backed away, but stopped herself. Could they be…? No, that was wishful thinking. But Olivia’s mind had caught the thought and wouldn’t let go. She was instantly reminded of how Thunderwrecker and Big Red had leaned forward and bonded with her fellow cadets. Could this Robo be doing the same? After years of training, years of trying to prove herself worthy, it was finally happening?
She stepped forward, towards the slowly moving hand, ignoring the part of herself that called her out as pathetic, desperate. This was it. She would finally be a true pilot, prove to the others that she deserved this, really and truly.
She fiddled with her blue earring with one hand as the other reached to touch the robo’s.
Oh, she couldn’t wait to see the expression on Frank’s face when she—
The Robo’s hand seized her leg, and before she realized what was happening, Olivia’s legs were pulled from underneath her as she was dragged upwards.
“ Woah— hey! What the—“ She yelped, falling to her side as she was yanked into the air, dangling upside down.
The robo whirred and chirped, but it didn’t sound playful. It was sharper now, like they were annoyed. They held Olivia with their pointer finger and thumb, as if she were some pest.
Her vision blurred with black spots as she tried to fight back, kicking and shouting, but her actions were fruitless.
The robo was on the move now, taking Olivia towards the bright light it had come from, shaking the girl with every heavy step.
She gasped, and turned to activate her exo-suit.
Her jets blasted, startling the Robo and making them let her go. But Olivia’s victory to escape was short-lived as she realized she was plummeting to the ground, fast.
She jerked herself up to land properly, but got the wind knocked out of her as the metal hand caught her once more. It’s gripped tightened.
It raised her up until she was face to face with the large metal captor. Their crimson eyes were flashing, whirring loud and headache inducing.
It was almost like they were warning her— no, daring Olivia to try and escape again.
She breathed heavily, the sound of her own heartbeat racing and blood pumping filling her ears.
What the hell was wrong with this Robo? They weren’t supposed to be treating her like this! Robos were meant to protect humans, not hurt them.
“Stop!” She shouted. “Put me down!"
But the robo continued onward, not caring.
She squirmed, desperate. But she quickly stopped herself when she was squeezed tighter, hardly able to breathe at this point. She was grateful she had her exosuit to protect her, since it would prevent any crushing.
Hopefully.
A wave of coldness washed over Olivia as they passed through the split in the wall. She shivered, chills going down her spine.
She squeezed her eyes shut, the blinding light making her head ache.
Shoot. Shoot, shoot, shoot! What is going on?! I swear, if this is some stupid prank—! I saved the world, goddamn it! Give me a break…
I did save it, right?
The shine of the light finally disappeared from her eyelids, and she slowly peeled them open, awed by the sight.
Her surroundings were so unbelievably huge. It looked like a facility of some sort— of combination of a sterile hospital and the base back home. But unlike her base home, it was empty of people, unnervingly so.
She felt like a small mouse, caught and being dragged out of the house to be disposed of.
The robo had stopped moving, as if they were letting Olivia observe the area, before continuing their jaggering walk to who knew where.
A large window that took up almost half of a wall to her right showcased a room, and Olivia’s breathing stopped when she saw what was being held inside.
Olivia was thrown back to when she had raced towards the ship in space, scanning it before realizing it wasn’t a ship, but a monster. Bigger than any sharg she’d faced before, even it’s eye bigger than the robo that currently held her captive.
The terror she had felt came rushing back to her, making her grit her teeth as she wished she could just run and get away as quickly as possible, fearing for her own life for the third time within the last hour. But she couldn't move, forced to stare at the queen of monsters before her.
The hollowed yellow iris stared back once again.