– CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE –

  NOBODYELSE

  Americ-Ana fell backward, trying to drag herself away from the creature that had leapt in front of her.

  “Aaaaaaaah!”

  The scream echoed between the rocks and seemed to tear the air apart. She looked to the sides, upward, in any direction at all, but there was no escape possible. No shelter. No place where fear could fit.

  The creature advanced, its mouth open, displaying colossal shark teeth. Saliva dripped in thick strands, each drop glittering like poison. It stopped in front of her and stared.

  Americ-Ana panted. Now, with the monster closer, she could make out details that panic had denied her before. Her gaze locked onto the creature’s head, and her astonishment swelled.

  At the top of its skull, where there should have been a dorsal fin, there was a human arm. An arm that moved, whose fingers twisted as if trying to seize the air.

  Americ-Ana lowered her eyes, trembling. When her vision reached the creature’s abdomen, the scream broke free again, coming from a place even deeper.

  “POPPANDACORN!!!”

  The monster’s belly was a living cage. The bars, made of skin and bone, fused into the beast’s body, pulsing with every breath. Inside them, Americ-Ana saw little Poppandacorn. Or what was left of him.

  “POPPANDACORN!!!”

  The body of the small plush robotic panda was wedged tight, warped, flattened, as if he’d been swallowed by the creature’s own flesh.

  “POPPANDACORN!!!”

  “Shut up, intruder!”

  The voice came from inside the creature. Americ-Ana went pale, retreating onto her elbows.

  “Wait... you can talk? You understand me?”

  But as if it hadn’t heard what Americ-Ana had asked, the monster bent over her and grabbed her leg. With a sudden jerk, it hoisted her into the air.

  Americ-Ana saw the world upside down.

  “That’s it. This is my end. It’s over.”

  The monster turned toward the precipice. Americ-Ana swung by her leg, her body dangling into nothingness, her hair floating like strands of fear. The cliff ended in an abyss that swallowed light, the sea far below a dark, motionless mirror.

  She closed her eyes, waiting for the moment she would be released.

  “Look, my brothers. It’s only a bratty intruder. There’s nothing to worry about.”

  The monster’s voice boomed through the gorge. Americ-Ana opened her eyes and saw, down below, heads rising from the ocean. Other creatures, similar to that one, watched in silence. Their eyes shone like submerged headlights.

  After a moment, the heads vanished beneath the waves. The monster turned back to her.

  “Now you will join the other intruder.”

  It opened its mouth. Colossal teeth like blades. Americ-Ana was lifted higher still, on the verge of being devoured.

  She closed her eyes. A few seconds ago she had expected to be thrown into the sea. Now, she expected to be eaten alive.

  “Don’t hurt my Mommy!”

  Americ-Ana heard a sharp, metallic voice.

  “Shut up before I melt you with my stomach acid, intruder!” the monster roared, forgetting Americ-Ana for an instant and slamming violent punches into its own belly.

  “Poppa won’t let you hurt my Mommy!”

  The voice echoed again, coming from inside the creature’s abdomen.

  “Poppa! Is that you? Are you okay? Can you hear me?” Americ-Ana shouted, her heart sprinting.

  “Mommy! Poppa is okay. Don’t worry. Poppa will save you!”

  The monster snarled and threw another blow into its belly, muffling the metallic sound. Then it shook Americ-Ana in the air, her leg throbbing under its grip.

  “Both of you shut up, intruders, and let me do my job!”

  The creature lifted its face and opened its mouth once again. The hot, wet breath hit Americ-Ana like a wave of rot. She saw the colossal teeth drawing closer, each one gleaming like a living blade.

  The monster’s expression shifted. It looked confused, as if something were wrong. It yanked Americ-Ana aside and began moving its long, pointed tongue, sliding it between the serrated shark teeth.

  “What’s happening? What did you do, you pile of scrap?” it asked, striking its own belly with force.

  “I peed on you, monster. I squirted my pee up your throat until it touched your tongue,” said Poppandacorn, the sharp metallic voice reverberating from inside the living cell.

  The monster moved its tongue again, restless.

  “You don’t fool me, intruder made of junk. I’ve tasted urine, and even feces, from frightened humans and animals I swallowed. Every unauthorized creature that dares to remain in Mulafossur when the portal is closed ends up inside my belly, or inside the bellies of my brothers. This is definitely not urine.”

  “Poppa! What are you doing? What’s happening?” Americ-Ana asked, still hanging by her leg.

  “Sorry, Mommy! Poppa failed this time. Poppa squirted soda onto the monster’s tongue. Poppa can’t pee or poop like humans. But I’ll try another way to get out of here and save you, Mommy!” Poppandacorn shouted, his voice muffled by the monster’s belly.

  The monster let out a low, heavy laugh.

  “You’re mistaken, intruder, if you think you’ll escape the cell of my stomach. I am a Guardian of Mulafossur. No captured intruder has ever escaped my cell. All of them were taken to judgment for invasion.”

  As it spoke, it delivered more punches into its own belly.

  Poppandacorn writhed inside.

  “Then Poppa will be the first to escape and save Mommy, you cursed monster!”

  “Quiet, you metal worm. Quiet!” the Guardian roared, striking its own body once again.

  Americ-Ana, dazed upside down, gathered what strength she had left. Her voice came out trembling, but steady:

  “Monster! Listen to me, please. I’m not an intruder, I’m not an invader. I’m an initiate, and I should already be at Solomon Coliseum by now. I just want to take my Poppandacorn and leave. But the invisible bridge simply vanished.”

  The monster gave another laugh.

  “You think you’ll convince me with those lies? I am Poseidon 4.0, son of the Dolphin Demon, ordained by those who wear the dolphin ring. Never has an intruder captured by me or by my brothers failed to be taken to judgment for invasion. Save your saliva for the trial, bratty intruder.”

  It said this while opening its mouth again and lifting Americ-Ana higher, ready to swallow her.

  Poppandacorn began kicking and pounding the inside of the monster’s belly, but it was useless. The creature let out an irritated roar, holding Americ-Ana with one hand while striking its own stomach with the other.

  “Quiet, invader! The more you thrash, the more my stomach devours you. There is no magic, ritual, or technology capable of stopping the force of my stomach. My father, the Dolphin Demon, anointed my body and the bodies of my brothers with demonic secrets. Not even a celestial being, not the strength of a thousand men, not the power of a war tank could break the barriers of my prison. Nothing can defeat my stomach while I, the Guardian of Mulafossur, keep my eyes open.”

  The next roar made the ground tremble. Poseidon 4.0 lifted Americ-Ana again, saliva sliding between its teeth.

  “Now enough talk. You will join the other intruder, whether you want to or not.”

  The arm that grew from the top of its head lowered, forcing Americ-Ana down its throat.

  With her head already inside the monster’s mouth, she screamed:

  “Wait! Wait! The proof of my crime! The proof of my crime!”

  The monster stopped mid-motion, raised the arm, and hauled Americ-Ana back out, leaving her dangling and slick with saliva.

  “What do you mean, the proof of your crime?”

  Americ-Ana wiped her face with trembling hands, trying to buy time.

  “Please, sir Poseidon 4.0, wait just a moment. You said there will be a trial... I mean... you said there is always a trial for every intruder who invades Mulafossur.”

  “Exactly, intruder. And every intruder and invader I captured and brought to trial was condemned. Tell me, what are you plotting, brat?”

  Americ-Ana swallowed hard, drew a deep breath, and answered:

  “Well, Poseidon 4.0, I have already been through several trials, and I can assure you that the evidence of a crime is the most important element in a conviction. I invaded Mulafossur to steal the wine made from the grapes that exist only in THE-IMPERIUM.”

  Poseidon 4.0 changed expression. For a few seconds, the monstrous face seemed to reflect something undefined. He drew back his great shark teeth, crouched, and dropped Americ-Ana to the ground with a thud.

  “Say more, bratty intruder. Tell me your true name, and do not try to deceive me by saying it is ‘Mommy’, because I have already realized that ‘Mommy’ is not your name, only what that scrap in my belly calls you.”

  Americ-Ana straightened up. She cleared her throat, inhaled slowly, and said:

  “My name is Nobodyelse, sir Poseidon 4.0. If you allow me, I would like to take the wine I intended to steal. That way, when I am delivered to the competent authorities, you will be able to present the proof of the crime. They will see there will not even be a need for a hearing, since the proof will be there, in front of everyone. You can be the first Guardian of Mulafossur to condemn an intruder without a hearing. Think about it, everyone will see how competent you are.”

  Poseidon 4.0 made another strange face, as if weighing it.

  “Very well, Nobodyelse. Where is the proof of the crime?”

  “It’s in the cabin area. Come with me, and together we’ll retrieve the proof.”

  The monster seemed to think for another moment.

  “Very well. But I warn you: the moment the proof of your crime is in hand, I will swallow it, and you will join that metal intruder. Try anything and I’ll tear you apart with my teeth. The laws of Mulafossur allow me to eliminate anyone who poses a risk beyond the limit. Don’t get clever.”

  Americ-Ana swallowed hard. Then she, Poseidon 4.0, and Poppandacorn, still imprisoned in the Guardian’s belly, set off toward the cabins.

  When they arrived, Americ-Ana turned to Poseidon 4.0.

  “It’s in the drinks cabin. Can you go in there with me?” she asked, though she already knew the answer: the monster was enormous, and the cabin obviously could not contain him.

  “I don’t fit inside the cabins, and I also cannot destroy a property of Mulafossur without plausible justification. I’ll stay outside, watching you. I warn you again, brat, if you try to run or cheat, I’ll slice you from head to toe with my teeth. Don’t forget, you’re an intruder, and this place is surrounded by my brothers, bigger and stronger than I am, who would kill you before you even realized.”

  Americ-Ana swallowed hard again.

  “Mommy! Please be careful.” Poppandacorn murmured, his voice muffled from inside the monster’s belly.

  Americ-Ana turned and stepped into the cabin; on the sign fixed to the entrance, it read “Drinks.” Inside, she walked up to one of the thick transparent tubes and typed the word “wine.” A scanner swept across the three QR codes tattooed on her face and, in moments, a small tube of wine materialized. She removed it from the larger cylinder.

  She repeated the same procedure and another small tube appeared. She placed both into another large tube, and when a keypad materialized she typed: “merge the two drinks.” She went back to the first large tube and repeated the process, extracting several small tubes of wine. Then she went to the other tube and repeated the operation, merging the drinks into each other, again, and again, until it formed a single homogeneous content.

  Nearly seven minutes had passed. Outside, Poseidon 4.0 prowled at the door, impatient; its great eye gleamed in the gloom.

  “Hey, brat! What are you doing? It’s been too long. Come out now or I’ll destroy this cabin with you inside.”

  Americ-Ana murmured to herself, without lifting her head:

  “That should be enough.”

  She stepped out of the cabin with the small tube of wine in her hands.

  “Sorry, Poseidon 4.0. As I promised, I was gathering sufficient evidence into a single tube to be analyzed as soon as you deliver me to the competent authorities. I promise the evidence I collected is perfect for my conviction. You, Poseidon 4.0, will be the first Guardian of Mulafossur to manage to convict an invader without needing to go through a trial.”

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Poseidon 4.0’s eyes gleamed. He crouched and, with a hand over the top of his own head, took the small tube of wine from Americ-Ana’s hands.

  “Perfect, intruder! So there’s no risk this precious evidence will vanish, I’ll store it in my stomach. And right after that, you will join that little metal worm.”

  The laugh that rose from his throat was so deep the ground trembled under Americ-Ana’s feet. Then Poseidon 4.0 opened his enormous mouth and swallowed the tube of wine whole.

  Americ-Ana kept her eyes fixed on the monster’s belly. The instant the tube of wine struck Poppandacorn’s head, she shouted:

  “Now, Poppa! Break the wine tube!”

  “What?... But what???” Poseidon 4.0 roared, but it was already too late.

  Even trapped inside the creature’s stomach, Poppandacorn gathered all the strength he had. He gripped the wine tube with both tiny hands and punctured it with his own unicorn horn. The liquid began to spill, quickly being absorbed by the monster’s inner stomach walls.

  “What did you do, you infernal brat? I’m... dizzy... I don’t feel well!” Poseidon 4.0’s voice wavered, and his gigantic body staggered like a ship struck by a wave.

  He tried to strike Americ-Ana, but his movements were slow and uncoordinated. She dodged by a hair. The monster’s arm slammed into the cabin, splitting it in half. Fragments flew in every direction.

  Poseidon 4.0 roared one last time, off-balance, and collapsed with a colossal crash. The impact shook the entire ground.

  Americ-Ana coughed as dust and debris invaded her throat. She waited a few seconds, her heart hammering, until she was sure the monster was truly unconscious. Then she shouted:

  “Poppa! Poppa! Poppandacorn! Can you talk to me?”

  She rose slowly, wiping her face with the dirty sleeve of her clothes, and took a few cautious steps toward Poseidon 4.0.

  “Poppa, can you hear me?”

  A slithering sound echoed from inside the monster’s body. Suddenly, its mouth began to move. By instinct, Americ-Ana stepped back, muscles taut, ready to run.

  “Mommy! I’m here!”

  Poppandacorn’s sharp, metallic voice came from deep in the giant’s throat.

  “Poppa! Can you get out? Do you need help?”

  “I’m almost there, Mommy! Just a little more.”

  Between Poseidon 4.0’s serrated, gleaming teeth, a small mechanical arm groped blindly. After a few clumsy motions, Poppandacorn emerged completely, sliding out of the monster’s mouth.

  But something was wrong.

  “Poppa! What happened? Are you okay?”

  The little robot had half his torso turned inside out, the other half warped. His head hung at an impossible angle, rotated one hundred and eighty degrees, yet his eyes blinked with the same glow as always.

  “I’m fine, Mommy! But I’m going to need a few repairs.”

  Americ-Ana moved closer, hesitant, afraid to touch him and make the damage worse.

  “Poppa, are you sure there’s a way to fix this?” she asked, frantic.

  “Stay calm, Mommy! Of course there is. Poppa is very strong and resilient. What happened is, as soon as that mean man kicked Poppa out, Poppa ran away in fear and got caught by this ugly monster. He swallowed Poppa and locked Poppa inside that stinky, tight belly. The more Poppa tried to get out, the more the monster’s stomach crushed Poppa. So Poppa ended up all broken. But Poppa promises he’ll stop being ouchy very, very soon.”

  Americ-Ana drew a deep breath. Despite everything, a small smile formed on her lips. Poppandacorn was still there, crooked, cracked, but alive. And for now, that was enough.

  Poppandacorn took a few steps, but instead of getting closer to Americ-Ana he drifted away, because his lower limbs were turned backward. He let out a shy little giggle.

  “Oops! Poppa needs to adapt. Give me a hug, Mommy! Poppa missed you so much. I knew you’d come back to get Poppa!”

  Americ-Ana knelt to the little robot’s height, her eyes wet and her voice trembling.

  “I missed you so much too, Poppa! I was afraid I’d never see you again.”

  They hugged in haste and tenderness, but they were cut short by Poseidon 4.0’s heavy rumble. Americ-Ana drew back, her body on alert.

  “Quick, Poppa! We have to get out of here. We have to reach Solomon Coliseum as fast as possible. I don’t know what to do. The invisible bridge is gone. The water falling off the cliff doesn’t turn into mist or cloud anymore, it drops straight into the ocean.”

  Before Poppandacorn could answer, Poseidon 4.0 rose with a roar that shook the air.

  “I’m going to destroy you both, you unruly intruders.”

  Poppandacorn took Americ-Ana by the hand and bolted toward one of the cabins. They were almost inside when, suddenly, the robot shoved Americ-Ana hard, sending her rolling across the floor of the building. She tried to pull herself together, dazed, and then she saw the sight that froze the blood in her veins: Poseidon 4.0 had stepped on Poppandacorn.

  “Poppa! Please, don’t die!” Americ-Ana screamed, her voice splitting like a shard.

  Poseidon 4.0 laughed, and the laugh made the ground tremble beneath his feet.

  “Without your little robot you are nothing, bratty invader. While I hold this metal worm down, I will call my brothers to annihilate you.”

  He lifted his head and bellowed toward the horizon, his metallic voice cutting through the air.

  “ATTENTION, MY BROTHER GUARDIANS OF MULAFOSSUR, NOBODYELSE IS TRYING TO ESCAPE. NOBODYELSE IS TRYING TO ESCAPE.”

  Nearly a minute passed, and confusion spread across the monster’s face. He repeated it, louder, as if forcing the signal.

  “NOBODYELSE IS TRYING TO ESCAPE. NOBODYELSE IS TRYING TO ESCAPE.”

  The repetition echoed through Mulafossur, a sentence hurled into the wind; Americ-Ana remained still, her chest tight, feeling time narrow into a thin count between hope and danger.

  Americ-Ana turned toward the inside of the cabin. It was the dairy cabin. While Poseidon 4.0 screamed for his brothers, she ran, scooping up everything she could, and began to hurl the food at the monster.

  “Leave Poppandacorn alone! Get your foot off him now!”

  Poseidon 4.0 laughed again, and the ground vibrated under the weight of his voice.

  “You think you can hurt me with food? I’m going to finish you!”

  Still keeping his foot on Poppandacorn, the giant leaned forward and stretched out the arm that sprouted from his head, trying to grab Americ-Ana. The enormous fingers advanced like claws about to close around her.

  But before the touch could come, a metallic, furious voice echoed:

  “Don’t hurt my Mommy, you ugly monster!”

  Poppandacorn, taking advantage of the enemy’s distraction, focused all the strength he had left in his small body and drove his hands into the monster’s foot, tearing a hole in the metallic flesh.

  Poseidon 4.0 roared and toppled onto his side, the impact kicking up dust and debris.

  Without wasting time, Poppandacorn ran into the cabin and began gathering the food Americ-Ana had piled up, placing it into the compartment in his belly. His voice took on a mechanical, impersonal tone.

  “Activate red-level defense mode. Activate red-level defense mode.”

  Poppandacorn’s small right arm retracted, transforming into an improvised weapon. From its tip, food began to fire with force at Poseidon 4.0. Milk tubs, cheeses, butter boxes, and bottles spun through the air like absurd projectiles, bursting into white jets across the monster’s body. A dairy war waged between a robotic child and a rampaging titan.

  While Poseidon 4.0 struggled to regain himself, Poppandacorn grabbed Americ-Ana by the arm and the two of them managed to get out of the cabin.

  “Mommy! Let’s run to the cliff’s edge. When we get there, I’ll analyze every possibility for reaching the Jump Chronos Station even without the invisible bridge.”

  They started running, but before they left the cabin area Americ-Ana stopped in the middle of the path.

  “Poppa! Wait! I need to get my Seractcube, the dish I prepared to present to a demon at Solomon Coliseum is in there. We can’t leave without my Seractcube.”

  Before she could finish, Poseidon 4.0 reappeared, more furious than before.

  Poppandacorn yanked Americ-Ana by the arm and the two of them rushed into another cabin.

  “Quick, Mommy! Hand me everything you can gather in here.”

  While Poppandacorn stood guard at the door, Americ-Ana gathered as many objects and food items as she could, even ripping pieces from the cabin itself when she had to. She passed the pile to Poppandacorn, who turned his arm into a weapon and began firing the improvised ammunition at the monster.

  “Poppa! Be careful! The monster is getting closer!” Americ-Ana shouted, but it was already too late. With a single blow, Poseidon 4.0 split the cabin in half.

  Poppandacorn managed to shield himself from the splinters and brace Americ-Ana in time. They ran to another cabin and hid.

  “Mommy, we need a strategy. Poppa has already thought of one. To tire the monster out and reach the table where your Seractcube is, we’ll move from cabin to cabin, using each one as a shield. That way, when he attacks, he’ll wear himself down, and we’ll have time to run to the cliff’s edge.”

  “Excellent idea, Poppa! Careful, he’s coming again,” Americ-Ana warned.

  “Mommy, gather everything you find in here so I can use it as ammo and slow down the evil, ugly monster,” Poppandacorn said, taking position at the entrance and spreading his arms, forming an improvised barrier.

  Immediately, Americ-Ana gathered everything she could inside the cabin and piled it beside Poppandacorn. The little plush robot turned his arm into a weapon and began firing whatever he could get his hands on.

  “Watch for my signal, Mommy! The moment the evil monster strikes this cabin, we’ll run to the next one until we reach your Seractcube!” Poppandacorn shouted, as jets of olive oil were sprayed at Poseidon 4.0.

  The giant drew closer, crushing the ground with every step.

  “Surrender now, both of you! The more you resist, the more things I’ll be forced to destroy to capture you, and all of it will be charged at your trial!” Poseidon 4.0 roared, trying to shield himself from the objects Poppandacorn hurled at him.

  Poppandacorn looked around inside the cabin and shouted:

  “Mommy, quick! Come with me! The evil monster is about to strike this cabin!”

  Americ-Ana ran to him. The next instant, Poseidon 4.0 smashed the structure with a violent blow, but it was too late, because the two of them had escaped and were hiding in the next cabin.

  “You lawbreaking worms! Come back here now!” Poseidon 4.0 bellowed, furious, rummaging through the wreckage in search of them.

  Americ-Ana and Poppandacorn kept to the plan, leaping from cabin to cabin while the monster destroyed everything behind them. Until, at last, they reached the area where the initiates’ tables stood, arranged across the great platform.

  “Poppa! There, there! My Seractcube is there! Come on, we’re almost there!” Americ-Ana pointed, her heart racing.

  While she focused on reaching the artifact, Poppandacorn positioned himself in front, firing food and kitchen utensils without stopping. Pots and bottles flew like improvised projectiles, ricocheting off the monster’s body.

  Poseidon 4.0, however, was beginning to falter. The arm that sprouted from the top of his head was torn, bleeding a dark, viscous substance. Every strike cost him more strength.

  Then he stopped, panting, and murmured to himself, a malicious glint in his eyes:

  “They want to reach the cliff’s edge... I know what to do.”

  The sound of his breathing reverberated like subterranean thunder, and the air seemed to change, heavy and on the verge of collapsing.

  Americ-Ana and Poppandacorn finally left the cabin area behind and ran toward the cliff’s edge. The wind carried the smell of salt and electricity, the mist of the waves rising from the depths like an ancient breath. Americ-Ana held the Seractcube tight, as if the object could somehow guarantee hope.

  When they reached the edge of the abyss, she stopped abruptly.

  “Oh no! Look, Poppa, the water spilling over the cliff is falling straight into the ocean, it’s not turning into mist or cloud. That means the invisible bridge isn’t here. I don’t think we’ll make it to Solomon Coliseum in time, and I’ll end up losing the chance to offer my food to the demon. I’ll be disqualified.”

  Poppandacorn set his little paw over her hand.

  “Calm down, Mommy. I’m here to help. We’ll get to Solomon Coliseum in time. You’ll give your food to the demon, the demon will love your food, the two of you will seal a pact, and you’ll be the greatest KING MatNat player of all time.”

  As Poppandacorn spoke, his LED eyes cast bluish reflections across Americ-Ana’s face. Inside his mechanical mind, calculations began to assemble in rapid sequences. The internal display blinked with the first result: the jump between the cliff and the Jump Chronos Station was possible, but there was a high risk of failures and errors.

  Poppandacorn executed a new command. His processor answered in silence, transmitting data straight into his internal sight. The jump demanded operation beyond the permitted limit. System conditions, damaged, with partial functions and unstable power, reduced operational capacity to only twenty percent.

  Poppandacorn recalculated, now factoring in Americ-Ana’s weight, height, and body density. The display replied in red pulses. The operation became ninety-nine percent likely to fail. Extreme risk. Irreversible damage to the automaton. And certain death for the user Americ-Ana.

  Then Poppandacorn adjusted his internal commands to execute the jump. The display flared and showed a message that sounded like a cold echo inside his mechanical mind: the procedure was ninety-nine percent likely to fail, with only a one percent chance of success. The final question blinked in yellow: were you sure you wished to continue?

  Without hesitation, Poppandacorn confirmed the command. In the same instant, every internal gear lit up in red. Critical mode was activated. The little robot’s body emitted a deep hum, as if the very air trembled around him.

  He turned to Americ-Ana.

  “Mommy, trust me. Everything will be okay. Poppa will jump as close as I can to the Jump Chronos Station. I’ll rely on the thrusters in my feet, and, to close the remaining distance, I’ll open the parachute that will come out of Poppa’s unicorn horn. As soon as I calculate, in midair, how much distance is left, the parachute will deploy. For that, Mommy, you need to hug me as tightly as you can, because Poppa won’t be able to use my little arms to hold you.”

  Poppandacorn gestured for her to lower herself to his height. Americ-Ana knelt, her heart racing, and looked into his LED eyes.

  “Mommy, be honest with Poppa. Can you hold on with all your strength?”

  Americ-Ana stroked the little robot’s face. A faint smile broke through the fear.

  “I trust you, Poppa.”

  She kissed him on the forehead, and the gesture made the automaton’s sensors flicker blue for a brief instant.

  “Okay, Mommy. Let’s get ready to jump, open the parachute, and reach the portal.”

  Before leaping, Poppandacorn looked back, making sure Poseidon 4.0 was nowhere in sight. The silence confirmed the way was clear. He gave Americ-Ana his final instructions, and she obeyed without hesitation, clinging to the small plush robotic body with all the strength she had.

  “Mommy, here we go.”

  The thrusters ignited, jets of energy cutting through the air, and the two of them hurled themselves into the abyss. The wind swallowed them. The red lights kept flashing in critical alert, every gear vibrating beyond its tolerable limit. At any moment, everything could collapse.

  On the internal display, Poppandacorn saw nothing but numbers, projections, and calculations of distance traveled. The fall was measured in real time. The ocean called them downward, the portal called them upward.

  Outside, to an ordinary human like Americ-Ana, everything happened in a matter of seconds. The jump, the drop, gravity pulling the body toward the abyss, it was only an instant. But inside Poppandacorn, time dilated. His circuits processed every millisecond as if it were entire minutes. What lasted one second for Americ-Ana could stretch to thirty or more for him, depending on the effort and the energy he had left.

  Even in critical state, with all the red lights flashing in warning, Poppandacorn maintained absolute control of the operation. The jump proceeded as planned. He was already calculating the exact point to deploy the parachute and guarantee their reach to the Jump Chronos Station, when something that was not part of any projection altered the course of the fall.

  His sensors picked up an anomalous vibration. A dense noise, coming from the ocean below, reverberated through the air like submerged thunder. The sound wave grew in intensity, rising toward them.

  Suddenly, something colossal burst out of the water and struck them. A brutal force seized Poppandacorn and Americ-Ana midair.

  “Poppa! Watch out!” Americ-Ana cried, clinging with all her strength to the little robot’s body.

  A monstrous roar split the sky.

  “I’ve got you both!”

  The sound was grotesque, vibrating, as if the ocean itself were speaking. Americ-Ana felt something wet and sticky latch onto her legs, climb to her waist, and wrap around Poppandacorn too.

  From the depths rose Poseidon 4.0, the Guardian of Mulafossur. His gigantic body tore through the sea in a monstrous leap, the arm sprouting from the top of his head stretching out and grabbing them. In a single motion, he yanked them down into the dark, icy water.

  The impact was cushioned by the monster’s own body. Americ-Ana vanished into the confusion of bubbles and darkness. Everything around her was motion and cold. The Seractcube slipped from her hands and disappeared into the depths. The ice cut her skin like invisible blades. Water flooded her nose and mouth, burning from the inside.

  For an instant, everything seemed to fall silent. Then a force from below drove her upward. Her body rose through the bubbles until, finally, she broke the surface and breathed. She coughed, gulping air and salt.

  The cliff now seemed infinitely distant, the Jump Chronos Station unreachable.

  That was when a shadow rose over her. Something immense vaulted out of the water, blotting out the sky. Poseidon 4.0 thrashed in violent convulsions, releasing roars that made the sea vibrate. The monster looked as if it were in a trance, seized by a seizure, a collapse that churned the waves and shattered the silence into pieces.

  The monster’s body disappeared again into the depths. Americ-Ana fought to move her arms and legs, but the weight of the water and the cold dragged her down. Each breath brought more salt, more despair. She was beginning to swallow the sea.

  For a brief instant, everything went quiet. The ocean seemed to hold its breath with her.

  Then, suddenly, the surface exploded. Poseidon 4.0’s colossal body surged up in a leap that tore through the darkness. Americ-Ana lifted her gaze, and what she saw made her forget even to breathe. At the top of the monster’s head, where an arm had grown before, there was now Poppandacorn. His small body was twisted, gears exposed, water flooding his circuits.

  But something was different. Somehow, Poppandacorn was controlling Poseidon 4.0. Luminous filaments spilled out from inside him and pierced the monster’s skull, fusing the little robot and the creature into a single entity.

  The water around them began to change color. First a pinkish veil, then a fierce, saturated red. Americ-Ana looked around, horrified. The entire sea was staining into blood. She was swimming inside the wound of the guardian monster itself. The warm liquid seeped into her pores, slipped into every opening, ran down her throat. She swallowed without meaning to. Coughed. Thrashed. But the red kept spreading, endless.

  Poseidon 4.0, with Poppandacorn fused to the top of his head, vanished again into the depths. Only for a few seconds.

  Then Americ-Ana felt a gigantic force driving her upward. An invisible current hurled her back into the air.

  “Hold on, Mommy! We’re going to jump to the portal!”

  She heard Poppandacorn’s voice echo through the water and clung to him by instinct. When she looked, she saw the little plush robot fixed to the top of Poseidon 4.0’s head, strands of energy spilling from his small body and plunging straight into the creature’s exposed brain. The organ pulsed, alive, immense, and Poppandacorn’s tiny feet were sunk into the blood-red mass that throbbed beneath him.

  Then the impossible happened. The monster’s gigantic body leapt, tearing through the surface like a living mountain. Americ-Ana and Poppandacorn were flung upward. The wind sliced their faces, the ocean becoming a distant smear far below.

  “Mommy! We’re close, hold on tight!” Poppandacorn shouted.

  Americ-Ana lifted her eyes. Above them, the Jump Chronos Station gleamed like a mirror in the sky, closer and closer. She squeezed the robot’s small body with all her strength, feeling the heat of his circuits burning beneath the plush casing.

  Poppandacorn unplugged the filaments that bound him to Poseidon 4.0’s brain. The monster began to drop slowly, dragging the sea with it, while the little robot raised his tiny arms, angling the thrusters upward, toward the Jump Chronos Station.

  Americ-Ana screamed, but it was already too late: the two of them were cutting through the air like a comet.