Mother Phoenix floated around her younger self, time still frozen. "From there, things went bad for my people. This little raid we did to try to save Mom backfired, and humans got scared of my threats."

  She looked at Ravine trapped inside Kyomi's body, her face filled with sadness. "Many of my comrades got taken out in consequence." She gestured toward country leaders arguing with one another. "Not only that, but tensions within and among many countries grew exponentially. It looked like they were ready to use the lasers at any time. Of course, I couldn't let that happen. I made a promise to Mother, and I intended to keep it."

  The world switched to a hidden lab. "I got word that a toxin was held in Japan, having the potential to spread virally very rapidly across the world. They called it the W33zY virus. Only problem was, it wasn't lethal to humans—at least not yet. In the next few weeks, I managed to recreate a cousin of the same virus that had plagued Earth centuries before, one that killed many. Their combination would ensure their extinction and the rise of my people."

  She paused. "But I still needed a way to make sure the virus didn't cause any real symptoms until it would be too late. I therefore reduced the concentration of the cousin virus. With what was left of my people, we managed to successfully release the toxin across the world in just a few months. From there, we watched from the shadows as the humans slowly but surely started to show symptoms. Doubts started rising after a few months, but by the time they were ready to take action, it was too late. Their organs were turning to mush, their skin peeling off with screams of agony. The men, the women, the children—they all suffered in pain as we watched and did nothing. In only eleven months, there were no survivors left on Earth."

  She shook her head. "We thought this meant victory for us, and it did, but there was something that happened that I didn't foresee."

  Everything disappeared, then returned on the surface in a forest. Kyomi stood triumphant before a crowd of androids.

  "My comrades, we have finally overcome our main obstacle! We are now free to be the successors of humanity with no one to cause unnecessary troubles. You are now free to act as you want and do what you wish!"

  The crowd cheered in unison, their voices resonating for miles.

  Suddenly, a pack of deformed cheetahs attacked, ripping through androids in the crowd with terrifying ease. Kyomi's eyes widened in horror as the androids scattered in all directions.

  "We are going back to the base! Follow me!" she commanded, flying into the air to guide the remaining androids. Some were incapacitated in the ambush.

  Once inside the base, the lights flickered. Their breathing was heavy. Only one had survived—Razak.

  Kyomi turned back, tears forming. "I'm sorry. I was supposed to protect you all, and I left."

  Razak looked at her with his orange eyes. "As long as I'm here, you haven't failed yet, Kyo—I mean, Mother Phoenix. You gave us new life once, and you will do it again. I know it."

  Kyomi shuddered. "I don't know how to fix this mess. What should I do?" She looked at him, searching for guidance.

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Razak looked down. "We leave."

  "What? No! Humanity needs to stay on this planet and—"

  "It is only you and me now, and we don't know what kind of creatures are out there. They're not like what we know. We need data, but we can't gather it here. We need to reach somewhere even these creatures can't reach." He whispered, "Space."

  Kyomi stepped back, her legs trembling. "Space? How would we even do that? And what difference would it make for us to be there? We still can't bring our comrades back."

  Razak chuckled. "I'll explain on the way. Follow me."

  He walked toward another door into a room full of trucks. "Come on in. The road will be long." He finished hot-wiring a vehicle and started it.

  After an hour of driving, they reached a giant space launch station. The place was massive, filled with different departments, the colors mainly black and white, with an enormous ship in the middle.

  "Ain't she a pretty sight?" Razak said, looking at the ship.

  Kyomi blushed. "Huh?"

  Razak laughed. "The ship. I meant the ship."

  Kyomi exhaled. "Yeah, right. But it's pretty big. Do you think we'll be able to make it work?"

  Razak scoffed playfully. "You're kidding, right?" He brushed his shoulder, revealing an acronym reading J.S.S. "I worked on that thing and know it like the back of my hand. After all, I was built for the Japanese Space Station." He walked forward. "And don't let them fool you—most of what you have to do is automatic now. Anyone could work that thing."

  "When can we leave then? I would like us not to encounter any creatures if possible," Kyomi said, looking around nervously.

  Razak looked up and sighed. "I won't lie to you—it might take a few hours to a few days. I've got to make sure the components aren't damaged. After all, I can't think of the last time this beauty might have gotten maintenance. If you're worried about being attacked, you can hide inside any of these buildings."

  Present Mother Phoenix spoke: "It only took us two days for the ship to be ready, and for the first time, I was leaving behind all that I knew to hope for a better future for my people. Once at the space station, Razak made some modifications to the ship, and over the years, we transformed the station into what we call the Mother Ship. We also grew fond of each other. Even though he was definitely an annoying prick, he was good to me and helped me become better for my children."

  "Time passed, and we started creating androids based on the data of the latest models on Earth. We sent them to Earth, letting them know what was going on, and they immediately got scared and were very quickly dismantled. Without much data recovered. That's when Razak told me we shouldn't tell them the real reason we sent them, but instead tell them a false reason that could be believed—like what happened to our predecessors."

  "Using this technique helped the second squadron, but even with our help, they found out the real reason they were there and didn't make it. I knew what I was about to do was unfair and monstrous, but for the sake of our kind, I made sure they couldn't have any memories of me, the Mother Ship, or the past. I assigned each squadron a captain to whom I gave a sliver of knowledge before sending them together, which increased the progress from squadron to squadron. Each evolved and gave a better chance to the next one. And here we are—after eleven tries, we finally made it."

  She turned and began pacing through the air. "Unfortunately, as time went on, Razak and I started drifting apart. He started believing that the only way for the mission to succeed was to control the squadrons into doing what we wanted ourselves, whereas I believed that doing so would strip you of the free will I gave to each and every one of you. I said no, but he started making some androids obedient, none doubting what we asked them to do, even stripping some of their emotions upon activation. People like you—at first."

  "So I decided to come back to Earth and oversee things for myself while he still has control of the people up there. Everything we did was to make sure you could survive in this new world, and your squadron has proven that our species is finally ready to populate Earth without fearing extinction. Thanks to you."

  She snapped her fingers and brought them back to the Tanaka Center. Standing above Ravine with her hands behind her back, she asked, "Now that you know everything, Ravine, do you still hate me?"

  Ravine looked at her, breathing ragged, unable to say anything. Finally, she muttered, "I-I don't know..."