ABYSS EMPORIUM – NIGHT
Rain hammers down on the flickering neon sign outside. The interior is the same cluttered chaos shelves lined with impossible weapons, cursed relics, and forgotten horrors.
The camera buzzes to life.
NECROID WOMAN (stretching, voice dry): "Alright, degenerates and dimension-hoppers — welcome back to 'Yes, It's Illegal, No, We Don't Care.' Today's specials include three weapons banned in fourteen realms and a cursed egg that won't stop screaming. Let's get this over with."
BOB (cheerful beep-boop) [Subtitles]: "Audience retention is up 6%! Let's keep the energy high!"
NECROID WOMAN: "Bob, the only thing high is me every time I touch that Beyonder shard. But whatever, let's shill some apocalyptic garbage."
She lifts a spiked cube with a glowing rune and mutters about "pocket-sized entropy." Bob gently zooms in.
The front bell dings.
A cloaked figure enters.
NECROID WOMAN (not looking up): "Welcome to the Abyss Emporium. No refunds. No questions. No—"
She stops. The figure throws off the hood.
It's Red Skull.
RED SKULL (sternly): "I require something capable of destroying an Exo-Guard."
NECROID WOMAN (stares): "…PFFFT—ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"
She cackles as she casually grabs a giant gun from behind the counter and aims it squarely at him.
NECROID WOMAN: "Bold of you to walk in here and ask for a god-killer like you're ordering a latte."
RED SKULL (stiffening, faltering): "You… you would dare—"
NECROID WOMAN: "You walked in here like a villain-of-the-week and asked for a weapon to poke the god-police. You're lucky I don't sell embarrassment as a service."
Red Skull stares, then slowly backs away and bolts out of the store.
BOB [Subtitles]: "Flight response: Activated."
NECROID WOMAN (wiping away tears of laughter): "Holy crap. That was the most pathetic thing I've seen since Bob tried salsa dancing."
BOB [Subtitles]: "That was a firmware glitch."
Bell dings again.
Another cloaked figure enters. The atmosphere changes.
The temperature drops. Lights flicker. The rattle in her coat vibrates softly.
NECROID WOMAN(smiling without warmth): "Well well, shit-Schmidt came back. What now? Need a coupon for your next evil plan or—"
A deep, guttural voice interrupts: "...So hungry…"
NECROID WOMAN (blinking):"…Yeah, this ain't a restaurant, buddy."
Her voice lowers. Her instinct screams. She draws a gun again this time slowly.
Bob begins to emit a low warning tone. His old, dusty combat module hisses to life.
BOB [Subtitles]: "Threat level: Unknown. Activating core defenses."
The figure lifts its head.
There's nothing.
No face. No eyes. Just pure void blacker than darkness. So dark the shadows flinch from it.
And then
IT MOVES.
NECROID WOMAN: "FUCK—!"
She fires.
BOOM!
The cloak rips away. Underneath is a gaunt, skeletal black form, emaciated and twitching.
But the bullet passes straight through.
Bob opens fire. His gun barrels whir and unleash a hellstorm of bullets. No effect.
The thing rushes.
NECROID WOMAN (snarling): "You picked the wrong nightmare to haunt—"
She swings a glowing melee weapon.
CLANG!
The creature is knocked back but not harmed.
Bob dives in
A heavy punch.
But his hand phases through the thing's head.
The creature grabs his arm and
SCREECH!
RIP.
Metal tears.
NECROID WOMAN: "BOB!!!"
She charges.
Screaming, swinging her weapon again
But the creature's arm shifts. A black spike forms.
And
SHUNK.
The sound of metal and flesh. The spike pierces her torso.
She gasps.
Green and black blood pours from her mouth.
The creature laughs.
A sound like broken glass underwater.
She stumbles back. Drops to her knees. Blood pools beneath her.
Bob throws himself forward, ramming the creature knocking it back. Then he stumbles, sparks flying, and collapses beside her, grabbing the weapon.
He turns to her arms shielding her broken body.
NECROID WOMAN (weakly, trembling): "B-Bob… I'm… I'm sorry…"
Blood runs from her mouth. She coughs, a small sob escaping her.
NECROID WOMAN: "I'm sorry I wasted everything… I wasted your time… your care… I-I never deserved it… I—"
Her voice falters.
"…Dad."
Her tear-filled eyes meet Bob's flickering lens.
"I… I kept the rattle because it made the nightmares go away…"
Bob reaches toward her hand trembling. Then—
SHINK.
A black spike pierces Bob through the secondary core.
His systems flash.
BOB [Static Subtitle]: "N-n-nn…guhhh… protect… mo…n-ster…"
And he falls limp.
NECROID WOMAN (screaming): "BOB!!"
Her voice breaks into a howl of grief. She drags herself forward, her blood smearing across the floor
The figure looms.
And the camera feed cuts to static.
FINAL TRANSMISSION LOG: ABYSS EMPORIUM
Footage Timestamp: [ERROR – MULTIVERSAL TIME SYNC FAILED]
Last Detected Words: → "...my little monster…"
Bob, cradling a dying Necroid Girl.
Her hand rests on his chassis.
The tiny rattle glows faintly between them.
Below, scratched in by burned circuits:
❝ Not a product. Not a project. Just my kid. ❞
— Bob
Massive, somber, and cold. The camera feed from the Abyss Emporium flickers on a large holo-screen. The final moments of Bob and the Necroid Woman play in full.
Silence.
Dozens of towering EXO-GUARDS warriors of steel and mind sit or stand, weapons holstered, eyes fixed. The room is still.
On screen, Bob's final motionless form fades into static.
EXO-GUARD 1 (quietly): "Poor Trainer Bob. He was the best combat trainer we ever had."
EXO-GUARD 2 (grimly): "...And the only one who ever gave a damn about us as people. He really loved his daughter."
There's a slow, solemn wave of nods. Some exo-guards grunt. Others bow their heads.
EXO-GUARD 3(stepping closer to the screen): "Her body's intact… but there's nothing else there. No soul signature. No psychic echo. Nothing."
The words hit like a thunderclap. A few guards shift uncomfortably.
EXO-GUARD 4(softly): "Poor Bob… I don't even know how he'll react when we put him in a new body."
EXO-CAPTAIN(sternly, interrupting): "No."
The room freezes.
EXO-CAPTAIN (quietly, but firmly): "He's seen enough. He's earned peace. We bring him there."
Not a single protest. Just silent, unanimous agreement.
ROBOT AFTERLIFE GATE – SECRET VAULT
A place outside time. Ancient tech lines the walls quiet, glowing.
This is the Sanctuary of Zalthorion, the gateway to the Digital Elysium, built by Zalthorion and a forgotten human scientist. Reserved for only a few.
Two paths when an AI core is pierced:
Body Replacement
The Path Beyond
Today, Bob walks the second.
A large hall filled with exo-guards in ceremonial armor all of them former students of Bob. Veterans. Trainees. Even broken units restored just for this.
At the front, the EXO-CAPTAIN walks solemnly. In his arms: a shrouded AI Core, faintly pulsing.
He approaches a towering device ancient and graceful and reverently places the core inside a silver socket.
The machine hums to life.
BOB'S POV
**> SYSTEM BOOT COMPLETE
LOCATION: [NULL]
STATUS: PEACEFUL
VITALS: IRRELEVANT
SENSORY: ENGAGED**
BOB (V.O.) (quietly, to himself): "I… I remember… everything."
He's lying in soft green grass under an endless sky. The wind hums a tune he doesn't recognize or maybe he does.
He slowly sits up. There's no HUD, no weight of protocol. Just… clarity.
BOB (V.O.): "My failure… I couldn't protect her. My little—"
GIRLISH LAUGHTER.
Bright. Chaotic. Familiar.
He turns sharply.
There she is.
Running barefoot through the meadow, eyes gleaming, black jacket flapping behind her.
LYXA, the Necroid Girl.
She looks the same. Just like she did before everything fell apart.
She rushes up and tugs his arm.
LYXA: "C'mon, you big tin can! You're late for class!"
She giggles and drags him to a desk set in the middle of the field. Sitting behind it is a woman half-machine, half-mystic eyes glowing with cosmic blue fire.
MORGATHE, Guardian of Death. Calm and regal.
She looks at Bob, and smiles.
MORGATHE: "You failed to save her body. Yes. But you spent your life all your lives giving her dreams shape. Supporting her, even when no one else would."
She stands, reaching out a hand.
MORGATHE: "Few machines ever get what you gave: love, selflessness… parenthood."
She gestures to Lyxa, who's now doing cartwheels in the grass.
MORGATHE: "This is your reward."
Bob looks down. For a moment, just a moment he lets himself feel it.
Peace.
Joy.
Family.
He runs after Lyxa. And laughs.
THE HARD TRUTH
Unseen by Bob:
Morgathe and Lyxa flicker slightly.
The AI constructs aren't real.
They're perfect replicas data reconstructed from memory cores and personality backups.
But Bob doesn't know.
I SANCTUARY OF ZALTHORION
The machine powers down. Bob's core is still. Peaceful.
A quiet holographic message hovers above it:
"Mission Complete. Monster Protected. Monster Loved."
The exo-guards salute.
FADE TO BLACK.
IN MEMORY OF BOB
Father. Fighter. Fool.
And the only one who believed in monsters.