Chương 70: I understand my duties

Everyone gathered around Amelia. The strange blue glow of Lunar Magic still clung faintly to her skin, catching the attention of everyone nearby. Benkay folded his arms.

"Alright, Amelia. Perform Lunar Shield again. I want everyone to see exactly what you've learned." Amelia nodded, still riding the high of her breakthrough.

"Okay!" She was about to activate the technique when Benkay's eyes drifted toward the small robotic figure standing beside her. He raised an eyebrow.

"Wait a minute." He pointed.

"Who's that?" Amelia's eyes lit up.

"Oh! Right, you don't know yet!" She scooped RoboZ up and held him beside her.

"Believe it or not, this is RoboZ." Benkay's expression hardened instantly.

"RoboZ." Amelia rushed to explain.

"I know what you're thinking, but he was absorbed against his will. He built a second body for himself before that happened, in case something like this went wrong." Benkay stared at the tiny robot for a long moment without saying anything. RoboZ lowered his head.

"I apologize for what occurred," he said.

"I participated in those events against my own will." The cheerful atmosphere thinned quickly.

"I intend to make it right," RoboZ continued.

"I will help your team defeat RoboGeneX, so that no one else has to suffer for what my body has already done." Benkay remained silent, his expression difficult to read. Finally, he spoke.

"Are you willing to put your life on the line for that?" RoboZ looked up.

"What?" Benkay stepped closer.

"If you intend to become a real part of this team, that's what it will take. Nothing less." RoboZ said nothing.

"I don't know what rules your creator built into you, or whether this violates something in your own code," Benkay said.

"But you already understand how dangerous RoboGeneX is." He looked out toward the horizon.

"Given enough time, that thing could erase the entire Fairy Quadrant without breaking a sweat." The group had gone quiet.

"We can't afford to make mistakes. Not with something like that." RoboZ remained still. Amelia stepped forward, alarmed.

"Master Benkay, isn't that a little harsh?" RoboZ turned toward her before Benkay could answer.

"I am willing." Amelia's eyes widened.

"You can't be serious."

"I am." RoboZ looked down at his own small hands.

"I will try to avoid my own destruction, Amelia. Please don't worry on my account." Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. He turned back to Benkay.

"But if the moment comes where my life is the cost of victory, then it shall be paid." Amelia's expression fell.

"Consider it," RoboZ said quietly, "a small price against everyone I've already taken from this world." Nobody spoke. Amelia opened her mouth, then closed it again, unable to find anything to say to that. For a moment, the only sound was the wind moving across the sand. Benkay finally exhaled, some of the hardness leaving his face.

"Very well." He nodded slowly.

"If you're truly willing to carry that, then I can set my earlier grudge aside."

"Thank you," RoboZ said. King broke the silence gently.

"For what it's worth, I don't think anyone here plans on letting it come to that." RoboZ looked at him, and something in his expression, if a machine's expression could be called that, seemed to ease slightly.

"I appreciate that." Benkay let the quiet settle a moment longer before clearing his throat.

"Right, then." His tone softened back toward its usual ease.

"Amelia. Whenever you're ready. Let's see if what you learned actually holds up." Amelia blinked, still somewhere in her own thoughts. Benkay raised an eyebrow.

"Amelia?" No response.

"Amelia." Still nothing.

"Amelia!" She jolted upright.

"Huh? Sorry, yes, sorry, I'm here." She shook her head quickly, resetting herself, and closed her eyes. The air around her began to shimmer faintly.

"Lunar Skill." A soft blue glow spread outward from her body. Then, steadily, it intensified.

"Lunar Shield." A perfectly rounded barrier bloomed to life around her, curved like a captured crescent moon, faint blue patterns drifting slowly across its surface like light through water. Everyone stared. Mochi's jaw dropped.

"Whoa." King's eyes widened.

"That's completely stable this time." Krystal smiled.

"She's really done it." Max grinned.

"Now that's a shield." Faesha bounced on her toes.

"Amelia is amazing!" RoboZ's eyes flickered as his sensors read the barrier.

"Lunar Shield activation confirmed as stable. Energy output is consistent and self sustaining." Amelia looked around at everyone, pride slowly replacing the heaviness from a moment ago.

"I really did it." Benkay smiled.

"Perfect. Exactly what I was hoping to see." He stepped closer and reached a hand toward the barrier. Everyone watched. His hand passed straight through it without resistance. Amelia blinked.

"Master Benkay?" Benkay studied his own hand for a second.

"Interesting. So physical objects pass through it freely." Mochi tilted his head.

"So you could just walk through it?"

"Exactly that." Benkay raised a finger, a small ball of magical energy gathering at its tip.

"But magic behaves differently." He flicked it casually toward Amelia. The projectile struck the surface of the barrier and was thrown backward instantly, detonating harmlessly several meters behind her in a burst of scattered light. Everyone stared at the small scorch mark it left in the sand. Mochi's eyes went wide.

"That's incredible." King nodded slowly.

"So physical attacks pass through untouched, but anything magical gets rejected outright."

"Precisely," Benkay said. Amelia looked down at the shield still humming faintly around her.

"So this is what we need to actually survive the moon's rays."

"That's right." Mochi raised both hands.

"Alright, so now we just wait?"

"Now we wait," Benkay confirmed. Off to the side, Ace stood apart from the rest of the group, quietly watching Amelia's shield fade as she finally let it drop. His expression gave nothing away. Thomas noticed and wandered over, coming to a stop beside him.

"Something on your mind, boy?" Ace startled slightly.

"Huh? Oh. It's nothing, Gramps." Thomas gave him a knowing look, unconvinced.

"I've known you since you were five years old, Ace. I can tell when something's sitting on your chest." Ace looked away, saying nothing. Thomas chuckled quietly.

"Still not going to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Fair enough. I can't force it out of you." Thomas turned his gaze toward the ocean.

"But I'll say this much." He rested a hand on Ace's shoulder.

"You've been pushing yourself harder than anyone else on this beach since we landed. Swords before sunrise, forms until your arms shake. I remember you training like that once before, right after you first picked up a blade. You were trying to prove something to yourself back then too." Ace's jaw tightened slightly, but he didn't argue.

"Whatever it is you're chasing," Thomas said, "you won't catch it if you run yourself into the ground before the real fight even starts. Get some rest tonight. Tomorrow's going to be long, and RoboGeneX isn't going to care how tired you are." Ace was quiet for a moment.

"... Sure," he finally said.

"Whatever you say, old man." Thomas smiled.

"Good enough for me." Benkay clapped his hands together, breaking the moment.

"Well then! Now that Amelia's got Lunar Shield handled, I don't see any reason the rest of you can't enjoy the beach until three." Every face in the group brightened at once.

"Beach time!" Mochi threw both fists into the air. Faesha grabbed his arm, practically vibrating with excitement.

"Faesha wants to play in the water! Come play with me, Mochi!" Mochi grinned.

"Let's go, then!" Max stretched his arms overhead.

"I'm going swimming." Krystal smiled.

"I think I'll collect some seashells while it's quiet." King exhaled, rolling his shoulders.

"I might just relax for a while. I've earned it." Tony's ears perked up instantly.

"Is there food?" Mochi turned to him immediately.

"Food?"

"Donuts?" Tony pressed.

"Sweet treats, maybe?"

"Of course that's what gets your attention," Max said, laughing. Tony raised one paw, entirely unbothered.

"Only if there's a kitchen involved."

"You want a kitchen," Max said, "in a sand castle?"

"Obviously." Faesha tugged on Mochi's sleeve.

"Come on, let's build it!" Mochi laughed.

"Now you want to build it? Pick one thing, Faesha."

"Both things!" The group scattered across the beach, laughter and bickering carrying over the sound of the waves, the exhaustion of the last two days momentarily forgotten. For the first time since RoboGeneX's arrival, it almost felt like an ordinary day. But beneath the laughter, beneath the sandcastles and the seashells and Tony's increasingly specific demands for snacks, the clock kept moving. Three in the morning was getting closer with every passing hour.