Gregory!! I'll get my revenge!!"
In the dimly lit underground parking lot, a hooded man crept cautiously, his rifle steady in his hands as he took aim at a man dressed in a sleek black lab coat. Surrounding him were ten heavily armed soldiers in combat armor, their weapons at the ready to protect the man.
The tense atmosphere crackled with anticipation, yet the man in the coat remained unnervingly relaxed, as if he were confident that everything was going according to plan.
"It's too late now, 'Zero'," Gregory said, his voice calm but filled with a chilling certainty. His eyes flickered with steely resolve as he spoke.
"The plan is already moving forward in the direction I dictate."
"No! As long as I'm standing, you won't have the final satisfaction!"
The hooded man roared, his rage pouring out uncontrollably, and his eyes blazed behind the shadowed hood. His figure trembled with fury.
"You're a fool, incapable of reasoning," Gregory retorted coldly, pointing at the hooded man with disdain. So he directed the order to his soldiers
"Erase that robot."
"Yes, doctor!"
Ratatatatat
Suddenly, deafening gunfire erupted. The hooded man dove behind a concrete pillar just in time, his movements calculated and precise. He timed his shot perfectly, unleashing a barrage that felled three soldiers in a single split second. The remaining soldiers swiftly raised their tactical shields to protect themselves and Gregory, returning fire meticulously.
The hooded man seized the opportunity, taking cover behind another pillar as he reloaded with cold, methodical efficiency. He advanced cautiously, using the pillar for cover while firing at his enemies. When he got close enough, he discarded his rifle in a swift motion, pulling out a combat knife and stabbing it into the front soldier's neck. Without hesitating, he pulled another knife from his pocket and hurled it into the head of another soldier.
The soldiers watched as two of their comrades were slaughtered in seconds, their weapons now trained on the hooded man. He, however, was faster. Using the stabbed soldier as a shield, shredded the back of the soldier with a barrage of bullets, then quickly pulled the pin from a smoke grenade lodged in the corpse's chest. Kicking it toward his enemies, enveloped the area in thick, choking smoke.
Closing in on Gregory, the hooded man drew a pistol and fired, eliminating four soldiers in quick succession. Just then, a soldier near Gregory's side raised his bracelet, and with a wave of his hand, a powerful gust of wind surged outward, dispersing the smoke and revealing the hooded man.
(What?! A mage?!)
As the smoke cleared, a woman in a high-tech combat suit suddenly appeared from cover, executing a dropkick that sent the hooded man sprawling into the air. In the chaos, a sword-wielding soldier swiftly slashed him across the chest. The hooded man tried to fight back mid-air, but the soldier grabbed him by the neck, smashing him to the ground with brutal strength.
"Arrk!" he cried out in pain.
(Where have they come from?)
"I want to thank you for giving yourself to me, Zero. Now I have all the IFP reactors, and the council will be erased," Gregory announced with sinister satisfaction.
"Don't... call me... Zero... my name is Aaron," the hooded man, Aaron, managed to gasp, still fighting despite being restrained by the sword-wielding soldier. The soldier flipped him over and slashed his back, exposing the bloodied, metallic spine—a stark contrast to human bones.
"Grah!" Aaron grunted, anguish and defiance in his voice.
"Do you still refuse to accept that you're a machine? Or are you still clinging to your creator? You're a stubborn robot," Gregory sneered in contempt.
"They... are... my parents, and you... will not... disrespect them," Aaron muttered through clenched teeth.
"Oh, really?"
The soldier nearby whispered into Gregory's ear, "Doctor, the starship is already in the hangar."
Gregory's eyes narrowed. "Well, it looks like the time has come." He drew a gun, leveling it steadily at Aaron's head.
"Goodbye, 'Zero'."
Bang
-----
Beep!... Beep!... Beep!...
(...Where am I?)
Aaron wakes up with an oxygen mask over his face, inside a transparent glass capsule filled with eerie, glowing blue liquid. As his vision clears, he notices numerous people dressed in sterile white lab coats moving around, their faces focused and professional. He observed that his hands looked oddly small and unfamiliar compared to his memories, causing a flicker of confusion to pass through his mind.
Suddenly, a loud, shocked voice echoed through the room.
"Professor! The prototype is awakening!"
The man wearing glasses nodded and announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, the experiment is a success! Our humanity's future is secure!"
"We finally did it!"
"Congratulations!"
"We can finally go home!"
"Hahahaha, Yes!"
A loud cheer erupted all over the room when the announcement was made, signaling that all the hard work had finally paid off.
But Aaron only stared in shock at the man wearing glasses. He remembered that this was the very first thing he saw when he first awakened, a face that was forever imprinted in his mind, this moment brought back a flood of memories. Overwhelmed by emotions, he felt tears welling up in his eyes.
(Papa?)
"Good morning, little guy," A gentle, reassuring voice cut through his reminiscing.
"Welcome to the world." Said by a blond-haired woman, her hand lightly touching the glass capsule as she gazed at Aaron with a warm, caring smile.
(Mama!)
(Did I come back to the past?)
(If so, then I'll do everything I can to ensure you two don't die!)
(Everything! I make it right!)