(Robotic dimension)
Walt's hands were shaking.
The shop owner stood at the entrance of the chamber, breathing heavily. The shadows behind him stretched unnaturally across the metal floor.
"You shouldn't have come here," the shop owner said slowly.
"You saw something you were never meant to see."
Walt stepped backward until his back hit one of the empty glass tubes.
"I—I didn't mean to," he stammered. "I was just cleaning… I didn't know—"
The shop owner's eyes darkened.
"It doesn't matter whether you meant to or not. You entered. You looked. That was your mistake."
Walt's voice cracked.
"Please… please don't do this."
Through the communicator, Sergain heard every word clearly.
His expression changed instantly.
"Walt? Walt, stay calm. Tell me what he's doing."
But Walt wasn't answering properly anymore. His breathing became uneven.
Back in the control room, Sergain turned sharply toward Bergail.
"Did you track the shop owner?"
Bergail looked at the monitor nervously.
"I was tracking him, sir. But the signal suddenly stopped. Like it was cut manually."
Sergain's jaw tightened.
"So he disabled the tracker."
A loud metallic crash echoed through the communicator.
Walt screamed.
In the chamber, the shop owner slowly reached toward his face.
Walt's voice trembled as he stared at the creature in front of him.
"You… you're not human…" he whispered to himself.
The alien's multiple eyes blinked in different directions, then slowly focused on him.
"No," it replied in a layered, echoing tone. "I am not."
Through the communicator, Sergain heard that clearly.
He froze.
"…It's not human," he said under his breath.
Bergail turned toward him quickly. "What are you saying?"
Sergain's face had gone pale.
"It's not human," he repeated, louder this time. "The shop owner… he's something else."
Bergail's fingers hovered over the console. "That's impossible. We ran identity scans."
"He fooled them," Sergain said sharply. "I made a mistake. I should never have sent Walt there alone."
Another scream burst through the speakers — louder, more desperate.
Sergain's composure cracked.
"That's it. I'm going."
He moved toward the exit, grabbing his gloves.
Bergail rushed in front of him. "Wait! You can't just run in there!"
Olive stepped beside Bergail. "You don't even know its full abilities. It disabled the tracker like it was nothing."
Sergain's voice shook, but it was firm.
"It's my fault. If anything happens to Walt, it's because I underestimated the threat. I'm not sitting here listening to him scream."
Olive spoke calmly but urgently. "Even if you leave now, it will take time to reach the facility. You'll be exposed the moment you enter."
"I don't care."
"You should," Bergail interrupted. "Because if you fall too, we lose everything."
Sergain stopped for half a second. His jaw tightened.
"Then give me something that increases my chances."
Bergail nodded quickly. "I'll bring the reinforced combat suit. It's designed for unknown biological threats. It should protect you from direct contact."
He rushed toward the equipment room.
Olive looked around cautiously, then lowered his voice.
"There's something else."
Sergain turned. "What?"
Olive hesitated.
"I built a teleportation device."
Sergain blinked. "A what?"
"A short-range dimensional teleportation device," Olive said quietly. "I've been developing it in secret. It's not fully tested."
Bergail's voice echoed from the hallway. "You did what?!"
Olive ignored him.
"It can track walt's location and send you directly inside. No travel delay."
Sergain stared at him in shock. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"Because it wasn't stable. And because I didn't want it misused," Olive replied. "Even Bergail doesn't know the full design."
Bergail re-entered, holding the suit. "You've been hiding this?"
"We can argue later," Olive said firmly. "Right now, Walt is seconds away from something terrible."
Another distorted scream crackled through the communicator — then static.
Silence.
Sergain's heart pounded.
"Give it to me," he said.
Olive handed him a small metallic device, shaped like a compass with different settings in the device. Strange blue lines pulsed across its surface.
"It will open a micro-portal. Once activated, you'll have one chance. The energy output is unstable. You may not get a second chance."
Sergain quickly began putting on the protective suit Bergail brought. The armor locked around his body with mechanical clicks.
Bergai looked directly at him.
"If you see something you can't handle… you retreat. That's an order."
Sergain attached the teleportation device to his wrist.
"I'm not leaving without Walt."
Olive adjusted the coordinates.
"Energy lock complete. Targeting facility core chamber."
The device began to glow brighter.
Sergain took one last breath.
"I should have known," he muttered. "A normal human doesn't hide that kind of lab."
Bergail looked at him seriously.
"Bring him back."
Sergain pressed the activation button.
The air around him distorted. Blue light surrounded his body. The room vibrated violently.
"Come on…" Olive whispered.
With a sharp flash, Sergain vanished.
Inside the robotic facility, the alien creature paused.
All its eyes shifted toward a sudden distortion forming in the air behind it.
A blue portal ripped open.
Sergain stepped through.
The alien slowly turned.
"So," it said calmly, "another human."
Sergain's voice was steady now.
"you will be punished for all your mistakes."
The alien's multiple eyes narrowed at once.
"You entered my domain without permission," it said, its voice layered and echoing.
"For that… you will be punished."
Sergain didn't respond immediately. His grip tightened around the metal rod he had grabbed from the side of the chamber — a reinforced energy conductor used for machine repairs.
Behind him, Walt was shaking.
The alien tilted its head slightly.
"I will deal with this small idiot after I finish you," it continued calmly.
Sergain stepped forward.
"You won't touch him."
The alien let out a strange vibrating sound — something like laughter.
"Humans," it said. "Always emotional."
Without another word, the alien lunged forward with unnatural speed.
Sergain reacted instantly.
He swung the metal rod across its arm. A sharp metallic sound echoed through the chamber as the rod collided with the creature's hardened surface.
The alien staggered slightly — surprised.
Sergain used that moment to push Walt backward.
"Stay behind me!" he shouted.
The alien straightened slowly.
Its eyes glowed faintly.
"You came prepared," it said.