Scene: After Curfew – Legacy Operations Quarters

  The hallways of Legacy Operations were silent, lit only by the soft blue glow of night-mode lights. Most rooms were quiet.

  Except one.

  Basti Lapu-Lapu peeked out from his door like a kid up past bedtime. His hair was messy, his board shorts still on, and he had a mischievous glint in his eye.

  He tiptoed to Andro’s door and tapped the control panel.

  Ding.

  Andro opened it mid-sigh. “Basti, what are you doing?”

  “Operation: Secret Hangout. Permission to invade your room.”

  “No.”

  “Cool, cool. I brought tsokolate and banana chips.”

  “…Fine. But only five minutes.”

  Exactly six minutes later, Kai showed up.

  “Basti said there’d be real pillows and fake tea.”

  Andro squinted. “What’s fake tea?”

  “Whatever Sani’s brewing, apparently,” Kai said, slipping inside.

  Basti grinned from his perch on Andro’s bed. “Told you the troops would come.”

  Soon after, Sani appeared—quiet as a shadow—with a heavy blanket draped over his shoulders like a cape. No dramatic entrance, no announcement. He simply entered, nodded once at Basti, and claimed his spot near the corner of the room with a small thermos in hand.

  “You came,” Basti said, clearly surprised.

  Sani shrugged, his expression unreadable. But he sat, cross-legged, and passed the thermos to the group without a word.

  “Still not gonna say anything?” Kai teased.

  Sani responded by raising a single eyebrow and offering a peace sign.

  “That’s a yes,” Basti interpreted proudly.

  Minutes later, Ika knocked quietly.

  “I heard… noise,” she said flatly. “Also, Basti left a note under my door that just said: ‘You deserve this.’”

  Basti winked. “My motivational skills are underappreciated.”

  In no time, Andro’s room was transformed. Blankets draped over chairs, snacks in the middle, pillows stacked like sandbags. A tiny hologram fire flickered in the corner, courtesy of Kai.

  “Welcome to the first official, unofficial Legacy Night,” Basti announced, striking a heroic pose with a pillow sword.

  “What exactly are we doing?” Andro asked.

  “Simple. Bonding,” Basti said, grabbing a chip. “We’ve fought robots, screamed at training drones, and almost died. Now we chill like semi-normal teens.”

  “Very semi,” Kai agreed, flopping onto a bean bag.

  Sani didn’t say a word. He just sat contentedly sipping his own tea, occasionally offering someone a refill without being asked. He chuckled—just once—at Basti’s dramatic retelling of his “near-drowning” in a kiddie pool, and when Kai fell off her cushion mid-laugh, he subtly passed her another one without looking up.

  They shared snacks, swapped stories, and for a moment, forgot the weight of legacy.

  Then, as the noise softened and the laughter faded to warmth, Ika glanced toward the hallway. Her voice was quiet:

  “…Do you think Project X ever had a night like this?”

  Everyone paused.

  Basti leaned back, staring at the ceiling. “If he didn’t, that’s exactly why we should have nights like this.”

  “Maybe he just forgot how,” Kai added.

  Andro nodded. “Then we’ll be the reminder.”

  Sani looked at them, his expression unreadable—but then gently pushed the chip bowl toward the center again.

  It was enough.

  “Empathy by midnight snack,” Ika said, smiling faintly. “It’s a strategy.”

  “To weird beginnings,” Basti said, raising his juice pouch like a toast.

  They all joined in—some loud, some quiet, one silent.

  But all together.

  No longer just warriors, but friends.

  A new kind of tribe.

  Andro’s quarters had transformed into a makeshift hideout of pillows, blankets, and quiet laughter. The glow of the makeshift hologram fire flickered gently on their faces, casting soft light as the Legacy Descendants lounged in various states of relaxation.

  Basti was sprawled across the floor with a bag of banana chips. Sani hung upside down from the edge of the bed, Kai sat cross-legged fiddling with a floating light orb, Ika was wrapped in a throw blanket like a burrito, and Andro was leaning against the wall, arms loosely crossed, eyes quietly thoughtful.

  They’d laughed for hours, but now a calm settled. A silence that wasn’t awkward—just… reflective.

  “I still feel it sometimes,” Kai said, breaking the quiet. “The wind in my veins. Like my great-grandfather’s still watching from somewhere above the clouds.”

  Ika looked over at her. “Do you think they can see us? Our ancestors?”

  Sani let out a breath. “If they can, I hope mine knows I’m trying. My Lola always said I carried the voice of the mountains. I never understood what she meant until the Shard awakened.”

  Basti’s tone turned softer than usual. “My Lolo used to tell me bedtime stories about Lapu-Lapu like he was a comic book hero. But now? I know it wasn’t a myth. It was blood. Real, and fierce, and full of fire. And now it’s in me.”

  Andro stayed silent for a moment before speaking. “I… didn’t grow up knowing what my family really stood for. I thought rebellion was just something in history books. But when the ground shook during my trial, I swear… I heard footsteps. Like Bonifacio walking beside me.”

  Ika clutched her inkwell pendant.

  “They weren’t just legends . They were heroes—who fought when it mattered, who stood their ground even when it cost everything. Their courage lit the path we walk now… and we carry that fire forward.”

  Basti gave a lopsided smile. “No pressure, right?”

  A chuckle rippled through the group—soft, tired.

  They leaned into the warmth of each other’s presence. No one said much after that.

  Kai eventually curled up near the foot of the bed. Sani stopped beatboxing long enough to fall asleep on a pillow fortress. Basti ended up snoring with half a banana chip hanging from his lip. Ika and Andro sat side by side until their heads slowly tilted and rested on each other’s shoulders, dozing off.

  Blankets rose and fell with gentle breaths.

  Silence.

  Peace.

  Scene: Morning – 0500 Hours

  The door slid open with a quiet hiss.

  Project X stepped in, ready to issue the wake-up protocol.

  But he stopped.

  And for a brief moment, the machine stood still.

  His red visor scanned the room—messy, warm, and entirely human. Bodies in tangled blankets, half-finished snacks, Kai murmuring in her sleep about “sky pizza,” and Basti drooling onto a plush fish pillow.

  His gaze lingered on Andro and Ika, asleep against each other.

  Then on the little makeshift banner above them that someone had scribbled in messy handwriting:

  “Legacy United. No Robots Allowed (Except Maybe X).”

  Project X didn’t react outwardly. Not really.

  But behind the visor, his eyes blinked.

  Slowly.

  Almost… thoughtfully.

  He turned off the wake-up siren in his HUD.

  BZZZZZT.

  A sharp, ear-splitting electronic buzz echoed through the room as the overhead lights flared on to full brightness.

  “RISE AND PREPARE FOR TRAINING,” came the command.

  Project X stood in the doorway, arms behind his back, visor glowing a bright red, voice booming like thunder through the still air.

  “Time: 0600. You are thirty minutes late. Training protocol breach detected. Disciplinary marks pending.”

  “GAH!” Basti bolted upright, banana chip stuck to his cheek. “What the—?! Who wired the sun to scream?!”

  Kai blinked at the harsh lights, shielding her face. “Okay, okay! We’re up, Commander Robo-Alarm!”

  Andro groaned, rubbing his eyes. “How did he even know we were all here?”

  Ika, already sitting up and adjusting her glasses with quiet efficiency, muttered, “I believe he simply knows everything.”

  Sani stirred slowly from beneath a blanket cocoon in the corner. He didn’t say anything—just gave a small, sleepy grunt and reached for his hoodie, eyes heavy but calm.

  Project X stepped into the room without hesitation. His gaze swept across the chaos like a general inspecting a failed ambush.

  “You were instructed to remain in your assigned quarters. Orders were disobeyed. Bonds were formed. Pillows were weaponized.”

  Basti shot him a thumbs up. “Yeah, but you gotta admit… solid team-building exercise, right?”

  Project X’s helmet tilted slightly.

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  “Team cohesion is not currently listed under sanctioned sleepover activities.”

  But then, just before turning, he paused.

  A quiet flicker crossed his visor.

  “Your next trial will begin in exactly 45 minutes. Report to the Sparring Deck. Uniforms on. Weapons ready. No excuses.”

  He turned on his heel with perfect posture and walked out.

  The door hissed closed behind him.

  Silence.

  Then—

  “…Was that his version of going easy on us?” Kai asked.

  Ika smoothed her braid, thoughtful. “I think that was his mercy.”

  Andro stood, brushing off crumbs. “Come on. We can clean later. We’ve got history to live up to.”

  Sani didn’t speak—just offered a small, amused smile as he began folding the blankets.

  Basti pointed at him. “You’re on mustache duty.”

  Sani raised a brow, then silently tossed a pillow at Basti’s head.

  The doors to the Sparring Deck groaned open, revealing a vast combat arena pulsing with energy. The lights dimmed to a dull red hue—like blood in water—signaling the trial ahead.

  The Legacy Descendants stepped inside, tension etched into their faces, eyes heavy from lack of sleep. Full combat gear clung to them like armor—and burden.

  At the far end stood Project X, still as a monolith, arms behind his back. His visor glowed crimson, and beside him hovered multiple armed drones—silent observers, ready executioners.

  “Descendants,” he declared, voice metallic and unyielding. “This is not an individual trial. You will engage as one unit. Coordination is non-negotiable. Disunity equals failure. Follow my lead.”

  The floor shifted with a grinding hiss. Holograms activated—Neo-Maynila in ruins. Smoke poured from collapsed skyscrapers. Drones roared in the sky. Flames licked the edges of the illusion.

  “Simulation: General Malvado’s Vanguard Unit,” the system announced.

  And then—it began.

  Explosions. Screams. Monsters made of shadow and circuitry.

  “Formation: triangle advance,” Project X commanded. “Andro, left support. Ika, rear defense. Kai, take air. Basti, right flank. Sani—center disrupt. MOVE.”

  They moved.

  Badly.

  Andro surged forward ahead of the group, eyes locked on the biggest threat.

  “No time to wait—we strike now!”

  “Wait—!” Ika called out. “The formation isn’t ready—!”

  He didn’t listen.

  A drone blindsided him, knocking him into a collapsed car.

  “Patience, Cadet Bonifacio,” Project X barked. “Not recklessness.”

  Ika fumbled to draw a binding sigil in midair, her hands trembling as she overthought angles and runes. “I need a better vantage… too many targets… maybe if I realign the spell—no, wait…”

  The sigil fizzled out.

  Sani watched silently, unsure when or how to insert his soundwave. He opened his mouth, hesitated, then closed it again. By the time he activated his field, the enemy had shifted positions.

  “Too late,” Project X snapped. “Communicate. Or perish.”

  Basti, meanwhile, was grinning as he rode a wave of his own water attack like a surfboard.

  “Whooo! Did you see that splash?! I give that move a solid 10!”

  “Focus, Cadet Lapu-Lapu,” Project X growled. “This is not a theme park.”

  Kai hovered overhead, biting her lip, unsure whether to call for regroup or strike. Her hands trembled at her sides.

  “Come on, say something,” she whispered to herself. “Lead them…”

  She didn’t.

  Her silence was filled by chaos.

  The Shadowbeast simulation roared through the smoke, tearing toward the group.

  “Collapse the center!” Project X shouted. “NOW! ALL TOGETHER—!”

  Andro, again, rushed in too fast.

  Sani misheard the cue and sent his pulse in the wrong direction.

  Basti missed the timing completely, too busy dodging debris with flair.

  Ika’s spell wasn’t ready.

  Kai froze.

  CRASH.

  The Shadowbeast barreled through them, sending the team flying.

  Smoke.

  Sparks.

  Silence.

  They lay scattered in the wreckage of their own failure.

  Kai landed hard, clutching her side, gasping. “We… we didn’t even touch it.”

  Basti rolled to a stop, trident clattering beside him. “Okay, okay… so maybe that could’ve gone smoother.”

  “Could’ve?” Ika snapped, glasses askew. “You didn’t follow any of the plan!”

  “You had three plans,” Andro shot back, sitting up. “We don’t have time for calculus—we just need to hit!”

  “You hit like a boulder in a wind tunnel,” Sani muttered, voice soft but edged.

  “Could you even talk during that?” Andro snapped. “We had no idea what you were doing!”

  Sani looked away.

  Kai tried to raise her voice—but it cracked. “Enough… we need to—”

  No one heard her.

  Project X stood in the center of the storm, unbothered, visor glowing.

  He raised a hand—and from behind him, another wave of enemies advanced.

  He didn’t speak this time.

  They were meant to figure it out themselves.

  As the shadows closed in again, something shifted.

  Basti, bruised and breathless, pulled himself up and looked at the others.

  “Okay,” he said. “We suck. We really, really suck.”

  Silence.

  He grinned crookedly. “But maybe let’s try not sucking… together?”

  Ika sighed, nodding reluctantly. “We can recalibrate. But we do it as one.”

  Andro cracked his knuckles. “Fine. I’ll hold. Just say when to hit.”

  Kai took a breath—then found her voice. “We move on my count. We trust. We follow. We finish this.”

  Even Sani gave a small nod.

  The Shadowbeast charged.

  This time, they responded as one.

  The Shadowbeast roared—towering, armored in jagged metal and black flame. Its eyes glowed like embers. Behind it, elite drone units emerged in formation, their movements perfectly synchronized. Unlike the Legacy Descendants.

  “Combat phase: escalation,” the system announced coldly.

  Project X didn’t move. He simply said:

  “Adapt. Or be deleted.”

  The beast lunged.

  Round Two began.

  Kai took a breath—deep, steadying. The storm inside her chest calmed just enough.

  “On me,” she said, voice clearer this time. “Ika—start the sigil net. Sani, when she casts, amplify it. Andro—wait for my signal. Basti—curve a wave around the left. We funnel the beast.”

  They moved—still shaky, but responding.

  Ika traced the air, her Baybayin sigils glowing brighter this time, more focused. “Net forming… ten seconds!”

  Sani closed his eyes, fingers glowing with sonic energy. “I’ll boost on your mark…”

  Basti chuckled. “This better not involve math, Rizal.”

  “Five seconds!”

  Andro paced like a caged animal, fists sparking. “Just say when.”

  The Shadowbeast leapt into the air.

  “NOW!” Kai shouted.

  BOOM.

  Sani released a sonic pulse right as Ika’s sigils activated, forming a net of spiritual light that stunned the creature midair.

  “ANDRO—GO!”

  Andro grinned and launched forward like a missile, fists glowing with ancestral flame. “With pleasure!”

  His strike collided with the beast’s jaw, cracking armor.

  “Basti—WAVE!”

  Basti spun his trident, unleashing a spiraling blast of water that Kai caught midair, channeling it into a cyclone vortex that slammed the beast to the ground.

  They surrounded it.

  Working.

  Breathing.

  One beat.

  “Excellent,” Project X muttered—barely audible.

  But the beast wasn’t done.

  It rose again, eyes glowing brighter now—angrier. The simulation surged. Enemy drones closed in. The Shadowbeast evolved, doubling in size, gaining new armor plating and wings of molten ash.

  Ika’s eyes widened. “New pattern! It’s adapting!”

  “Then so do we!” Kai called out.

  The beast let out a massive roar—and released a burst of shadow flame in all directions.

  Too fast. Too big.

  The flames were going to hit.

  But Project X moved.

  Instantly.

  In a blink, he stood between the Descendants and the incoming blast, his presence like a shadow cutting through chaos. His hand hummed with rising energy as he slammed it into the ground.

  ZZZZRAKKKK—!

  A surge of blue-white electricity erupted outward.

  A shimmering electromagnetic field (Aegis Field) expanded in a dome around the team, crackling with force. It absorbed the impact of the shadow flame blast, distorting the air and bending the light as energy slammed into the barrier from all sides.

  Sparks danced across Project X’s armor as he stood unmoved—shoulders squared, head low, like a storm refusing to break.

  “Calibrate and reposition,” he growled through the electric hum. “I will cover.”

  Ika shouted over the static: “The beast’s core is exposed when it roars—we need a precision strike!”

  Sani pointed. “Then I’ll silence it!”

  “Combo time!” Basti whooped. “I got the flood, you bring the boom!”

  “On three!” Kai called, her cyclone wings flaring again.

  One.

  Two.

  Three.

  Sani launched a sonic silence field, muting the roar just as Basti unleashed a tsunami through a crack in the floor. The flood pinned the beast in place.

  Andro jumped into the air, boosted by Kai’s wind gust—spinning, flaming, fists first—

  SLAM.

  Right into the glowing core beneath the beast’s chest.

  CRACK.

  The beast shattered into a burst of simulated light.

  Silence.

  Then:

  “Simulation terminated,” the system intoned. “Threat neutralized.”

  The lights returned to normal.

  The battlefield faded, leaving scorch marks and smoke in its place.

  The Descendants stood panting. Bruised. Dripping with sweat and light burns.

  But standing.

  Together.

  Project X walked past them slowly, scanning their vitals.

  “Team cohesion: rising,” he said.

  He paused in front of Kai.

  “Leadership: emerging. But not yet firm.”

  He turned to Andro. “Impulse: still problematic.”

  Ika. “Calculation delay: improving.”

  Sani. “Output rising. Communication: developing.”

  Basti. “Humor… less fatal. Continue monitoring.”

  Then he stepped back.

  “You are not ready for war.”

  Silence.

  “But you are closer.”

  Colonel Reyes watched from the upper balcony, arms crossed, lips tight.

  “Finally,” he muttered.

  Below, Basti collapsed again.

  “That’s it. I’m sleeping right here.”

  Andro dropped beside him. “You did alright, surfer boy.”

  “Did amazing, thank you very much.”

  Ika cracked a tired smile. “You’re all still insane. But… less suicidal.”

  Kai took a deep breath and looked at them—not as mismatched puzzle pieces anymore, but as something slowly forming.

  “We’ll get there.”

  Sani just nodded.

  And for once… he smiled.

  Author's Note:

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