"Reia, Reia, it's you!" Aiden exclaimed while rubbing his eyes, thinking it was a dream. He couldn't believe she was in the real world, being a computer program or, well, artificial intelligence. "But, what are you doing here?" the boy asked, intrigued and astonished at the same time.
"I don't know," she replied, adding, "It seems like your wish came true. You wanted me to come with you, and poof, you materialized me here in the real world."
"But, how is that possible?" he said.
"I don't know. I'm not a seer or a scientist, but I think I have an idea. When you touched me, you were imbued with that blue aura on your body, which made me appear by your side. I don't know how long what you did will last, but thanks. It's the first time I have been out of the system and, wow, it's a marvel. I never thought I'd see the sky up close, or the earth, or these stones," she said while beginning to touch the things on the ground. "I'm real," she touched her face, "and you too," she touched Aiden's face, pulling his cheeks. She was very excited to be real and see the world with her own eyes.
"Enough, Reia. Let go of my face. Yes, you're real, but we need to focus on what we really need to do," Aiden said, annoyed because she had left his cheeks red, but hurried and scared by the imminent destruction that Urion was going to carry out.
"Yes, you're right. There will be time to enjoy the environment later, I hope," she said with a bit of sadness in her words, because she didn't know if the effect was temporary or could last forever. "Can you contact Podbe?" Reia asked.
"No, while I'm in this form, I can't even connect to the system," she specified.
Chad, from inside, could see that Reia was outside.
"But, how is she out there? Wasn't she artificial intelligence trapped in a system?" he said to Podbe.
"Chad, or whatever your name is, is there a way to contact them?" Podbe asked.
"I don't know," Chad replied. "It still feels strange, it's like I'm talking to myself," he said to himself.
"What if you check your book?" Podbe suggested.
The man grabbed the book and began to flip through it page by page until he found something that might help them.
"Look, Podbe, I need to activate this button, I think it's for turning on the speaker," Chad indicated.
"Well, do it. There's not much time left, it's already at ninety-eight percent."
Without hesitation, Chad ran to the console and pressed the button. After doing so, he told the dog to try speaking.
"Hello, hello," the dog indicated in his wolf form.
"Podbe!" Reia and Aiden exclaimed, impressed by how they could both hear him.
Podbe informed them that Chad found a way, but there was no time to lose, as the healing process was at ninety-eight percent. Podbe spoke so loudly that everyone could hear him, even their friends.
Marie wondered, "Could it be, or am I going crazy?" she thought.
"You're not crazy," Ezequiel indicated. "I can hear it too, it's Nick's voice. But how can this be true, that Podbe's voice is coming out?" he said, intrigued.
Maybe that object Nick had with him that day was the cause of it, she thought, with many questions in her head.
The others, specifically those in Zeus' group and the ones accompanying the reporter, also heard the dog speak.
"He can talk, but why is that?" Melissa wondered, while Laos and Zeus were already thinking about taking the dog to experiment with him.
"Alright, there's no time to lose," the wolf-dog indicated. "Aiden, can you open the portal?"
"I'll try," the boy said.
Reia told him, "Go, hurry, there's not much time!"
The boy got back into a meditation position with his legs crossed and placed his hands in the air at the height of each leg. He joined his index and thumb fingers, making a circle. He saw the blue neon light that covered his entire body, enveloping him in a bright glow. Then, that light moved behind Urion, who was still charging his massive devastating attack, and a large door opened, but the other side couldn't be seen.
"Well done," Reia indicated, "but why don't you open your eyes?" she asked.
"I can't," he said. "I need to concentrate on keeping the door open," Aiden replied.
"Then, Podbe, you don't have time to lose. You must find a way to send him there without making him explode, or it will be the end of the planet," Reia said, agitated.
Finding a way to take him there, but how can I do that? Podbe wondered.
"Fools! I'm about to reach my limit and take you all with me," Urion laughed.
"Whatever you do, you must do it now," Chad said, while the screen showed the progress at ninety-nine percent. "Quick, think Podbe, what can you do?" the wolf-dog thought to himself. "If I touch him, he explodes; if I shoot him, he also explodes. How complicated is this," Podbe thought.
"I got it!" said the pup, and in his wolf form, he began to bite the ground.
"But what are you doing?" Chad asked.
"Just trust me."
Suddenly, the ground started to lift from where he was to the guardian.
"There's no time to lose," Podbe indicated, lifting the entire floor completely and moving it towards the portal.
"But what are you doing, filthy animal?" the guardian said, not noticing the door created by the boy. "One minute... Why is that boy emitting a blue aura? Could he be one of those? I don't think so; I don't believe there is one of them on Earth. I only know my lord, who created us and was the last of his kind, or so he said. I have to inform him there's another one like him," Urion thought.
The galactic wolf carried the guardian to the door. Once close, he dropped the large portion of earth he was holding in his mouth and launched it into the portal along with the guardian.
"What is this? That brat was creating this! Damn it, how is this possible? I can't move; this attack drains all my energy to create a massive explosion."
"He's already in the portal," Podbe indicated. "You can close it now, Aiden."
"Yes, alright," he said.
Before he could close it, he saw some tendrils grab Podbe by the front paws and start to pull him towards the portal.
"What is this? That madman is still holding on!" the dog said, unable to use his attacks because of the individual's explosion.
While the dog struggled with the guardian who peeked through the portal and the boy tried to close it, Lady arrived with a bunch of pieces in a box where Zeus was.
"Sir, I've found all these materials and assembled a communication device. I hope it works."
"Well, try it out, you're the expert," Zeus indicated.
Immediately, she connected all the pieces she had brought and turned on a small screen the size of a portable video game console. She pressed some buttons on the device and entered some codes.
"Please work," she said to herself.
Suddenly, someone could be heard speaking.
"Who is this?" they asked.
"This is a reserved line," they replied.
"I know, I'm Lady," she responded. "I'm Lady Ria, head of all technology at Radar Industries," she said with a nervous and delicate voice.
"I don't believe it. She doesn't have that nervous voice. Lady is a leader, and her voice is commanding. Stop bothering, this line is for emergencies and is ultra-secret. How did you get the codes?" they replied.
"Well, you see, I am Lady," the scientist said with a choked voice.
Suddenly, Zeus approached the device, interrupting the conversation, and said angrily to the person who answered:
"I am the owner of the company, Zeus, and if you don't do what I say, you will be immediately fired."
The person on the line swallowed nervously at what they had heard and was left speechless. Then, another person answered:
"Sir, Mr. Zeus, is it really you? I'm Pad, the communications manager. I apologize for the operator's rude behavior. How can I assist you?"
"First, I want you to try to trace this call. Second, as soon as possible, bring transportation for over seventy people. And third, I want the person who spoke to Lady Ria to be punished when I arrive. Is that clear?" Zeus said firmly and with a commanding voice.
"Immediately, sir. We have your location, and a ship is on its way to you. And regarding the third request, the worker who answered is being punished."
"Good, but leave some of it for me," he said with a deep voice.
In the background, the operator's screams could be heard.
"I'll be waiting. You have five minutes to get here. Don't fail me, Pad, or the same thing will happen to you," Zeus said.
"I understand, sir. It's on its way," Pad replied.
The wolf struggled to free himself from the tendrils with claws that had trapped him, but he couldn't; they were anchored in his paws.
"I'll take you with me, little dog," Urion said, enraged, while still emanating the evil aura and trying to get out of the portal.
Podbe thought and thought, but only had little time left.
"Healing sequence completed. Restarting in twenty seconds," an automated voice indicated.
Aiden was closing the portal, but the guardian clung to the door, placing his hands, or what was left of them, to prevent it from closing. With the other parts, he used his limbs to grab Podbe by the paws.
The only option left was to enter the portal with Urion.
"I'm sorry, Aiden, I think our reunion will have to wait," Podbe said sadly.
The dog launched himself directly into the portal, pushing Urion inside. The portal began to close until there was nothing left.
"No, don't do it, Podbe!" Aiden shouted as he opened his eyes. "I don't want to lose you, not again," the boy said through tears as he saw the portal close, taking Podbe and Urion with it.
Inside the unknown place, Urion knew his imminent explosion couldn't be stopped.
"Before I die, I'll send a message to my creator," he said with his last strength. Urion emitted a beam of light that disappeared into the distance. Then, his body illuminated, and the dark space where they were turned completely white.
Inside Podbe's system, a message appeared:
"Healing completed. Restarting system."
Urion's great explosion left nothing in its wake.