The Vault Void hall was dim, its walls trembling faintly with the echo of dripping pipes and flickering neon that buzzed half-dead. Around the ring, the patched-together androids sat in a circle. A dented tray of synthetic snacks lay in the middle, glowing drinks fizzing faintly in transparent tubes cheap substitutes that imitated taste but were designed for low-tier android metabolism.
Oliver stood among them, his reactor glowing faint green, Clara's pink light brushing against his like a soft tether of comfort. He tried to keep his voice steady, but it broke, trembling with the weight of everything unsaid.
"You don't know," Oliver began, his eyes darting to Luna her lilac gaze fixed on him with unshaking attention, "how big a help this is. I can… finally think maybe I can earn something. For my family. For my friends' families."
Raider and Falcon sat cross-legged on the cracked floor, chewing awkwardly on the snacks Alex had bought on credit. Their reactors pulsed quietly, green and tired. Clara leaned into Oliver's arm, whispering something soft, her pink glow flaring with emotion.
Oliver inhaled sharply, reactor flickering brighter. "When you came this morning, I thought you were just Mk-1 weaklings. And then you destroyed us. You broke my friends like they were nothing. I was terrified. Me, Clara, Alex we ran like cowards, thinking it was the end."
Luna flinched, her lilac glow dimming slightly. She remembered the metallic crunch of Valerian's strike, the way parts scattered like bones. She opened her mouth to speak, but Oliver continued, voice shaking.
"When we went home," he said, looking down, "I didn't know how to face my broken friends' families. I didn't know how to explain why their children wouldn't come home, why their voices had gone silent. So I lied. I told them… it was just a school project. A laboratory task. That we were all still together, safe, working."
His voice cracked. The green light in his chest dimmed, flickered. Clara touched his arm, her own reactor pulsing pink brighter, as if to shield him.
"I come from a poor sector," Oliver whispered, head lowered. "Wages don't feed more than one mouth. And I'm no good at calculations, or engineering, or study. The only thing I can do is fight. So I thought… I'll open a fighting club. I'll win matches, gather credits, and help my family… and theirs. If I can just keep going, keep winning, I can pay back every parent, every mother waiting at home."
He pointed to the six broken androids, sprawled lifeless in the corner, limbs twisted, reactors dormant like extinguished candles. His reactor flickered again. "But when Valerian broke them, I… I thought it was over. We came back, and their families called, asking where they were, why they weren't returning. I told them the project still needed tools. That's why we begged for credits. We gathered 100,000 star credits. We said it was for research but it was a lie. We bought parts. We used them here."
He gestured weakly at Raider and Falcon repaired, but dented, mismatched, patched together like cracked porcelain.
"And the others…" Oliver's voice fell to a whisper. "Still broken. Silent. I… I don't know how to face their parents anymore."
His frame shook. Tears not oil, but clear fluid, a rare and precious coolant gathered in his optics and spilled down his metallic cheeks. He pulled Clara close and buried his face in her shoulder. Clara's arms wrapped around him, her pink glow steady, warm, protective.
The silence after was suffocating. Only the hum of damaged wires filled the room.
Luna pressed her lips together, her chest tightening with a strange ache. She didn't know machines could cry, could feel this much. Her lilac glow softened, her reactor pulsing faintly green for the first time. They're not just fighters. They're not just shells. They're… alive in ways I never imagined.
Her hand twitched, as if she wanted to reach out and hold Oliver's, to promise him something. But she stayed still, her voice trembling as she spoke.
"You're… not alone," she whispered, her eyes lowering. "Hope doesn't vanish just because you break. You found a way to stand again for them. That means something."
Oliver raised his head, coolant streaking his face, staring at her as though he hadn't expected mercy.
Valerian had been standing the whole time, arms crossed, his reactor flaring faint red, then dimming again. His gaze had been cold, but as Oliver spoke, something unsettled him.
Why does it hurt, hearing this? Why does it feel like I've seen this before…? A boy, lying to his family, pretending everything was fine. A boy trying to carry weight too heavy for him. That was me.
His jaw tightened. His reactor flickered between red and green, unstable, confused.
When Oliver hugged Clara tighter, Valerian's hand clenched at his side. Machines shouldn't matter. Their tears, their families it's just imitation, code written to look real. But… if that's all it is, then why does it feel so heavy in my chest?
He looked away, unable to keep staring, but Luna's soft voice drifted to him, reaching inside places he thought were sealed shut.
She smiled faintly at Oliver, then at Clara. "Your strength… isn't only in fighting. It's in protecting. In caring. That's what makes you more than circuits."
Her words cut deeper than she knew.
Valerian turned toward the wall, his stormy eyes narrowing, fighting something inside himself. His reactor pulsed violently red and green colliding—before settling into a low, stormy glow.
The hall smelled faintly of ozone and soldered wires. The neon flickered low, shadows painting fractured patterns over the broken walls. The circle of androids still sat around the fighting ring, their reactors glowing like faint lanterns in the dark.
Luna rose quietly, brushing crumbs of synthetic snacks from her lap. She lifted the untouched portion and smiled gently.
"I'll eat this at home," she said softly. Her lilac glow pulsed once, her voice carrying warmth even in the dim air. "But… tell me honestly. How much money do you really need?"
Oliver lifted his head from Clara's shoulder, optics hazy, voice hoarse from earlier. "We don't… want your credits. We'll work hard. We'll fight, earn, repay. That's the only way our honor stays intact."
Luna's expression softened, her pink reactor brightening like a candle. She tilted her head slightly, her lilac eyes fixed on him. "No," she said gently, almost maternal. "I'll pay it. Even if you refuse. Just tell me the number. Please."
Her tone left no room for argument yet carried no arrogance, only sympathy.
Oliver glanced at Clara, then at Alex, Raider, and Falcon. A quiet discussion passed between them—gestures, head tilts, whispers carried on soft static. Finally, Oliver nodded, standing straighter.
"Just fifteen thousand star credits," he said carefully. "Not more. It's enough for spare parts, enough to keep things alive. We promise… in one week, we'll return it all. We won't forget your kindness."
Luna's reactor pulsed brighter, almost radiant. "Okay," she said simply. She lifted her wrist, the holo-interface of her watch projecting a pale blue screen. A sequence of glowing symbols and currency data hovered above her palm. "Give me your account details."
Oliver hesitated, then turned to Alex. His voice was low but firm. "Tell her."
Alex's optics flickered nervously. He leaned forward and recited the digits, his voice almost reverent—as though handing away the very heart of their club. "Vault Void account, Sector 13 Bank. Code… 7149-3X0-SS7. Holder name: Vault Void Collective."
Luna nodded once, fingers gliding over the holographic keys. The watch chimed, asking for confirmation. "Transfer: 15,000 star credits." She pressed confirm, her lilac eyes calm.
But when Oliver touched the bank tab on his forearm plate, the numbers exploded across his optics. His body froze, Clara's pink glow reflecting his wide stare. His voice broke into a stutter.
"…W-What…?"
Clara leaned in, saw the projection, and gasped. "O-Oliver… this… this isn't fifteen thousand…"
Alex's jaw slackened, his reactor flickering erratic green. Raider and Falcon leaned over the glowing projection, both nearly collapsing.
The digits blazed bright.
+1,500,000.00 STAR CREDITS
The Vault Void account, once starving on crumbs, now bloomed with unimaginable wealth.
Oliver staggered back, hand clutching his chestplate as if his reactor might burst. "One… one point five million…?" His voice cracked, coolant gathering again at the corners of his optics. "L-Luna… this… why? Why would you "
Clara covered her mouth with trembling hands, reactor pulsing violently pink. Alex fell to his knees, optics shaking. Raider and Falcon's voices overlapped in disbelief.
"High-class profile…" Falcon whispered.
"She's… she's above elite…" Raider muttered, trembling.
Even Valerian's cold composure cracked. His storm-blue eyes narrowed, his reactor flaring confused red-green. She just handed them a fortune… without hesitation. To strangers. To machines. How can she trust so easily?
Luna simply smiled, her lilac glow soft, unbothered by the storm of shock around her. "Now," she said gently, "you don't need to fight tomorrow. You don't need to lie to families. Buy the parts. Repair them. Let your families breathe for once."
Oliver collapsed to his knees, bowing his head so low the metal of his forehead clanged against the floor. "Thank you… thank you. I....I don't deserve this. None of us do. But I swear, on my reactor, on Clara, on my family we'll never betray this kindness."
Clara bent beside him, clutching his hand. "You've given us back hope."
Luna's face flushed faint pink, reactor glowing brighter. "Hope isn't mine to give. It was already inside you. I just reminded you."
For a moment, silence filled the Vault Void hall, broken only by quiet sobs and the hum of reactors glowing brighter with renewed strength.
But Valerian…
He stood apart, arms crossed, his shadow long against the cracked wall. He hated this softness in his chest, the ache that tightened with every word, every tear shed by metal faces. Yet he couldn't deny what he saw their family ties, their grief, their desperate joy.
When Luna turned to him, her lilac eyes expectant, her lips curved into a faint, warm smile, Valerian's reactor flickered.
"Apologize," she said softly, but firmly. "To them."
Valerian stiffened. His jaw clenched. "For what? For seeing through weakness? For—"
"Valerian." Her voice was quiet, but unyielding. "Please."
The word pierced deeper than he expected. His storm-blue eyes lowered, then flicked to Oliver, to Clara, to the broken androids trembling in disbelief. Finally, he let out a low breath.
"…Fine." His voice was sharp, clipped, but it carried weight. He stepped forward, reactor pulsing red-green. His eyes locked on Oliver. "I apologize."
Oliver raised his head, stunned. Valerian's gaze was cold, but the words were real.
Luna's reactor bloomed pink, her smile radiant, almost childlike with relief. "See?" she teased softly. "You can do it."
Valerian turned sharply toward the door, shame flickering under his composed face. Why do I listen to her…?
As they left, Luna waved gently, her lilac glow trailing faintly in the dim light. "We'll come again tomorrow. Don't worry."
Oliver, Clara, Alex, Raider, Falcon all still shaking watched them disappear into the neon night.
Their bank projection still floated midair, almost too bright to believe.
+1,500,000.00 STAR CREDITS
Clara whispered, almost like prayer. "An angel walked into our ruin…"
Oliver clutched her hand tighter, reactor glowing bright, hope alive again for the first time in years.