Valerian walked behind them, silent, stormy eyes watching. His grip on Luna's hand tightened slightly, enough to make her reactor pulse like a beating drum.
Luna followed, her thoughts spiraling.
Why did he say yes? Why risk it? Does he want information? Or… is he protecting me?
Her cheeks burned, but she bit her lip, letting him lead her deeper into the underworld of Mechatopia.
The passage narrowed until even the neon above flickered weakly, broken and dim. Valerian loosened his hand from Luna's fingers, stepping forward into the shadows. The faint glow of his stormy-blue veins beneath his biomechanical layering illuminated the walls like a quiet storm passing through.
Luna slowed a step, her life reactor glowing soft pink in the darkness. She hugged her arms against herself. Why did he let go…? Was it because holding me here would expose us, or… does he really not care? Her chest felt heavier, her lilac eyes dimming and glowing again in rhythm with her uneven heartbeat.
From ahead, metallic sounds echoed through the corridor:
—CLANG— the crunch of steel hitting steel.
—KRANG— the shriek of torn plating.
—CRUNCH— mechanical joints snapping apart.
The stench of heated alloys and leaking coolant reached her nose. The sounds grew louder until suddenly the narrow tunnel widened.
A cavernous chamber opened before them, the ceiling webbed with dangling wires and half-broken neon tubes. Faded holo-posters flickered across the walls—ads for cheap reactor upgrades, or stylized graffiti in glowing code. A large sign blinked erratically on one side: "VΛULT-VOID CLUB."
Valerian stepped silently to the railing, eyes scanning below.
Luna gasped softly. Her eyes reflected the dim light as they fell upon the scene. A massive fighting ring occupied the center. The flooring shimmered with flexible nano-steel plates, dented and soaked with fluid both mechanical and synthetic. Inside, broken androids lay scattered—missing arms, heads crushed, wiring dangling like entrails.
One android casually knelt beside a corpse, fingers digging into the skull cavity, pulling out a still-glowing ocular unit. Another ripped open a female android's chest panel with merciless efficiency—her life reactor socket empty, hollow.
Luna's voice trembled in disbelief, half-whispered:
"Valerian… they—they're plucking them apart like—like animals…"
Her stomach twisted. Her glowing eyes dimmed as if fear dampened her system.
Valerian's face remained cold, calm. His thoughts sharpened, cutting through the chaos. No sign of humans. No trace of Flame. But these creatures… they scavenge. They deal parts. If anyone has information about an out-of-place human child… it's them.
The two escorts who had lured them here raised their voices proudly:
"Boss! We brought two new baits. Mk 1. Level 10. Attack type!"
Luna stiffened at the announcement. The weight of hundreds of glowing eyes turned their way.
From below, a massive figure shifted. An android—taller than all others, with wide shoulders of reinforced alloy and a green life reactor glowing like poison fire in his chest. His presence radiated authority, dominance. Beside him stood a sleek female android, reactor glowing pink, her body lined with decorative gold seams.
The Boss android's voice boomed across the ring, deep and rough:
"Mk 1, huh? Weak little prototypes. But… let me see this weakling."
He raised a hand lazily.
The escort shoved Valerian forward—hard. But Valerian's body barely tilted. He allowed the momentum to carry him and dropped into the ring below, landing soundlessly on his feet like descending fog.
"Valerian!" Luna's cry broke out, panic in her voice. She lurched forward, but a sharp hand clamped around her wrist, halting her.
The escort sneered. "Where are you going, pretty one? Stay right here. Enjoy the show."
Luna struggled, her eyes glowing brighter with emotion. He's alone down there—what if they all attack him at once? No… he's strong, stronger than anyone I've seen. But still—
Valerian stood still, his stormy-blue aura faintly glowing, his eyes calm and storm-bound.
The Boss leaned forward over the railing. His voice shifted into Hindi, thick and commanding:
"Mk 1's are prohibited in this sector. Weak trash. You come here… you die here. But maybe your parts… can be valuable."
The androids around the ring cheered, mechanical voices blending with static laughter.
One smaller android, standing near the Boss, spoke up nervously, his voice shaking with greed:
"Y-yeah, Boss! We could strip them down! Their assault chips alone are worth half the market! And the layering—pristine! Our club is weak right now… we need the money!"
The Boss shot him a glare. "Don't state the obvious truth, worm."
But his companion, the sleek female android, stepped forward. Her pink reactor glowed faintly as she pointed toward Luna on the railing. Her voice dripped with envy:
"I want her eyes. Those beautiful lilac irises. I'll wear them. They'll suit me better."
She licked her lips with her artificial tongue. "And that skin… that soft purple hue with pink undertones. Expensive. Rare. Strip it for me."
Luna froze. Her blood chilled. Her reactor pulsed violently against her chest. My eyes…? My skin?
On the ring floor, Valerian's stormy-blue pupils sharpened like blades.
For the first time, a flicker of emotion broke through his composure—anger. Not for himself. For her.
Why… am I angry? I don't know. But if they touch her—
His aura glowed brighter, storm-like, faint veins of blue lightning crawling across his biomechanical layering.
Luna saw it from above, her breath catching. Her heart pounded. Her reactor pulsed pink, brighter and brighter. He… he's angry. Because of what they said about me. He—
The Boss leaned back into his cracked throne-like chair, metal creaking under his massive frame. His voice boomed across the pit, Hindi-laced with arrogance:
"Come, darling…my boys will take care of these weaklings."
The sleek female android smirked and slinked beside him. Her pink life reactor pulsed with playful glow as she curled into his side, already disinterested in the spectacle. The Boss's fingers tapped rapidly across a holo-slate—calculating, reallocating, counting credits and expenses. For him, this fight was nothing but background entertainment.
Below, six androids stepped forward into the pit, surrounding Valerian. Each of them was taller, bulkier, their plating heavier—emblazoned with faint engravings of MK II across their shoulders. Their joints hissed steam, power cores whirring with deeper resonance.