The classroom was calm.
Chalk on board.
Pages turning.
Low murmurs.
Emma finished writing a sentence in her notebook, paused, then raised her hand.
"Yes, Emma?" the teacher asked.
"…May I go to the bathroom?" she said.
The teacher nodded. "Go ahead."
Emma stood, pushed her chair in neatly, and walked out.
---
The hallway was quiet.
Too quiet.
Her steps echoed softly as she walked toward the restroom. She washed her hands first, slow and careful, then leaned slightly against the sink.
She looked at her reflection.
Same calm face.
But her eyes were thinking.
That biker, she thought.
Arthur saw him too.
She dried her hands and turned to leave.
That's when she felt it.
A presence.
Not close—but watching.
Emma stopped.
Her eyes shifted to the mirror again.
Nothing.
She stepped into the hallway.
Still nothing.
"…I'm being cautious," she murmured to herself.
She adjusted her bag strap and walked back toward the classroom, posture relaxed—but senses alert.
Whatever was starting—
She knew one thing for sure.
She wouldn't be caught off guard.
After school, the sky was gray.
Quiet.
Emma walked home alone, bag on her shoulder, steps steady—but her mind wasn't.
Something felt… off.
Then she heard it.
A sound.
Metal scraping.
Glass shifting.
From her house.
Emma stopped.
Her breath caught.
"…No."
She ran.
---
The front gate was open.
The door—forced.
"Mom—!"
Emma burst inside.
The living room was chaos.
Furniture overturned.
Glass shattered.
The air smelled like smoke and oil.
Asuka was on her knees near the couch.
Crying.
Her hands shaking.
A man stood beside her.
Tall. Thin. Smiling.
Vex.
"Ah," he said cheerfully. "Perfect timing."
Emma's eyes locked onto him.
"…Let her go," she said.
Vex laughed.
"Oh, relax. I didn't break her."
He tilted his head. "Yet."
Behind him—
Something moved.
Heavy.
A robot stepped forward.
Not like the others.
Thicker armor.
Dense joints.
Its core pulsed slowly, like a heartbeat.
Emma felt it immediately.
This one's different.
Vex spread his arms proudly.
"My newest work. Stronger. Faster. Smarter."
Asuka looked up.
"Emma—run—"
Emma dropped her bag.
Her expression went cold.
"…I'll kill you," she said.
Vex smiled wider.
"Try."
Emma moved.
In a blink.
She lunged—straight at Vex—
But the robot intercepted.
Emma pivoted mid-step and kicked.
BOOM.
Her heel slammed into the robot's head.
The impact cracked the wall behind it—
But the robot didn't fall.
Its arm snapped forward.
CRASH.
Emma was sent flying across the room.
She smashed into the wall and hit the floor hard.
Dust filled the air.
Asuka screamed. "EMMA!"
Emma coughed, pushing herself up.
Her eyes widened just slightly.
It didn't even stagger…
The robot stepped forward—slow, heavy, unstoppable.
Vex clapped.
"Beautiful, right?" he said. "It learns in real time."
Emma wiped blood from the corner of her mouth and stood.
Her posture lowered.
Focused.
"…Then I'll teach it pain," she said.
The robot charged.
The house shook.
And Emma braced herself—
Not as a student.
Not as a daughter.
But as someone who would not lose.
Not here.
Not now.
The fight exploded.
Emma didn't hold back.
She rushed the robot head-on, fists slamming into its torso, joints, neck—every weak point she could read in a split second. The living room became a battlefield.
CRASH.
A table shattered.
BOOM.
The robot slammed her into the floor—Emma rolled, sprang back up, and drove her elbow straight into its knee joint.
Metal screamed.
The robot adapted fast—too fast. Its movements grew sharper, heavier. Each strike threatened to tear the house apart.
Emma's breathing turned rough.
Not from fear.
From effort.
She leapt, kicked off the wall, and drove both feet into its chest.
The robot staggered.
That was new.
Emma didn't stop.
She grabbed its arm, twisted with everything she had, and ripped—servos snapping, sparks bursting out like blood.
The robot swung wildly.
Emma ducked, planted her foot, and slammed her fist straight into its core.
Once.
Twice.
A third time—
KRRRRSH.
The core cracked.
The robot froze mid-motion.
Lights flickered.
Then it collapsed—heavy, broken—smoking on the floor.
Silence.
For a few seconds…
Nothing moved.
Emma stood there, chest rising and falling, fists trembling, blood on her knuckles. She straightened slowly.
And then—
She looked at Vex.
No anger.
No shouting.
Just a stare so cold it felt empty.
Vex's smile vanished.
"…Wait," he whispered.
Fear hit him all at once.
He lunged.
Grabbed Asuka by the arm and dragged her up, pressing a device against her neck.
Asuka gasped.
Vex's voice shook. "S-Stay back."
Emma stopped.
Her eyes locked onto her mother.
Then back to him.
"…Let her go," Emma said quietly.
Vex swallowed hard. "One step closer and she dies."
Emma didn't move.
But something changed.
Her shoulders relaxed.
Her voice dropped.
"…You shouldn't have touched her."
Vex laughed nervously. "You think I care? You're just a—"
Emma took one step forward.
The floor cracked under her foot.
Vex screamed, tightening his grip. "STOP—"
Emma raised her eyes.
"…You made one mistake," she said.
"What—?"
"You think fear works on me."
The broken robot behind her sparked faintly.
And Emma smiled.
Just a little.
Emma's eyes flicked—just for a second.
Too long.
Vex saw it.
The broken robot behind her twitched.
A faint hum.
"…No," Emma breathed.
Too late.
The robot's core—cracked but not dead—reignited.
With a violent jerk, it lunged.
Metal arms wrapped around Emma from behind, locking around her shoulders and chest like iron restraints.
CRUNCH.
Emma gasped as pressure crushed the air from her lungs.
"EMMA!" Asuka screamed.
Emma struggled instantly—elbows slamming back, knees kicking—but the grip tightened, servos screaming as the robot compensated.
Vex laughed—high, panicked, unhinged.
"Hahaha—did you really think I'd only bring one fail-safe?"
Emma clenched her teeth.
"…Let her go," she growled.
Vex pressed the device harder against Asuka's neck. "Drop. Now."
The robot lifted Emma slightly off the ground, locking her arms tighter, immobilizing her.
Her vision blurred at the edges.
Think.
Her feet scraped against the floor.
The robot's grip tightened again.
Cracks formed in the wall behind them.
Emma's breathing slowed—not because she was losing—
But because she was focusing.
She stopped fighting.
Vex blinked. "…What?"
Emma's head tilted slightly.
"…You're right," she said calmly. "I was late."
Vex smirked. "Finally accepting it?"
"No," Emma replied.
Her foot hooked around the robot's ankle.
"You were."
She slammed her heel backward—hard—directly into the robot's knee joint.
KRAAASH.
The robot faltered for half a second.
That was all Emma needed.
She forced her arms outward—muscles screaming—and snapped free just enough to twist.
She drove her elbow straight into the robot's neck joint.
CRACK.
The grip loosened.
Emma tore free and spun, smashing her fist into the robot's head with everything she had left.
The robot flew backward—through the wall—collapsing outside in a shower of debris.
Silence.
Emma turned.
Vex was shaking now.
Real fear.
He dragged Asuka back another step, voice breaking. "S-Stay back—!"
Emma stepped forward anyway.
Slow.
Unstoppable.
"…You're done," she said.
And this time—
There was nothing left to save him.
Emma moved.
The instant Vex's hand jerked—
Scratch.
Asuka cried out softly.
A thin red line appeared on her cheek.
Blood.
It dripped.
Just once.
Emma saw it.
Time didn't slow.
It stopped.
Her eyes turned back to Vex.
Empty.
Not anger.
Not rage.
Nothing human at all.
Vex opened his mouth. "I—I didn't—"
Too late.
Emma lunged.
She didn't aim.
She ended.
Her hand caught his collar and throat at the same time, lifting him clean off the floor like he weighed nothing.
Vex screamed.
Emma turned—
And threw.
BOOOOOOM—!
Vex's body smashed through the window.
Glass exploded outward in a violent storm of shards, scattering into the street below.
His scream was cut short as he vanished outside.
Silence crashed down afterward.
Only the sound of glass settling.
Asuka collapsed to her knees, shaking.
Emma stood still for a second.
Then she rushed to her mother.
"Mom—look at me," Emma said, hands gentle now, completely different. "It's okay. I'm here."
Asuka touched her cheek, saw the blood, then looked at Emma.
"You came," she whispered.
Emma nodded.
"I always will."
Outside, distant sirens grew louder.
Below the shattered window, something groaned in pain.
Emma didn't look.
She wrapped her arms around her mother—
And for the first time that night,
She let herself breathe.
Vex slammed into the pavement outside.
Bones screaming. Rage boiling.
He dragged himself up, blood on his hands, eyes wild.
"NOW," he shrieked, voice cracking, "DO IT—!"
The robot responded instantly.
Its eyes flared red.
With a metallic howl, it lunged back through the shattered window, blade extending from its arm—fast, furious—aimed straight at Emma's chest.
Emma turned—
Too close.
Too fast.
For the first time—
She didn't have space to move.
"EMMA—!" Asuka screamed.
Then—
"STOP."
The voice cut through everything.
Firm. Loud. Shaking—but real.
Arthur stood in the doorway.
Phone in his hand.
Eyes locked on Vex.
"Stop," he said again. "Or I'm calling the cops. Right now."
For a split second—
Nothing happened.
Then Vex froze.
His breath hitched.
"…Cops?" he whispered.
Fear snapped back into his face like a switch flipping.
"No—wait—"
He raised his hands frantically. "I—I'll go. I swear. I won't come back. I won't touch you again."
Arthur didn't blink.
"Call it off," he said.
Vex swallowed hard.
"…Deactivate," he whispered.
The robot stopped.
Its blade retracted.
It stepped back from Emma—slow, unwilling—and then turned and followed Vex out through the broken window.
Vex didn't look back.
He ran.
Fast.
Too fast.
Gone.
Silence fell again.
Arthur's hands were shaking now.
He lowered the phone and rushed inside.
"Emma—are you—"
He stopped when he saw her.
Standing.
Unbroken.
Blood on her hands—not hers.
He looked at Asuka next—kneeling, shaken, cheek bleeding.
Arthur moved immediately, crouching beside her.
"I—I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I should've come sooner."
Emma finally turned to him.
"…You followed me."
Arthur nodded. "Yeah. I had a bad feeling."
Emma stared at him for a long moment.
Then she exhaled.
"…You did good," she said quietly.
Arthur blinked. "…I did?"
"Yes."
Asuka looked up at him, tears still in her eyes.
"Thank you," she whispered.
Arthur flushed. "I—I just did what anyone should."
Emma walked to her mother and gently wiped the blood from her cheek with her sleeve.
Her hands were steady again.
Emma looked toward the broken window.
"…This isn't over," she said.
Arthur swallowed.
"…Yeah," he replied. "I figured."
But he stood his ground.
Right there beside them.
And for the first time—
Emma wasn't alone.
Chapter End