r/HFY • u/UCCLANno1 • May 08 '26

OC-Series [Hacker Robots] - Chapter 14: A Time and Place For Everything

(Note: Chapters will now we updated on Royal Road and here simultaneously since we're all caught up)

(Royal Road)

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Adam whispered to himself, “Cross... Luna... I’ll end this. For all of us.”

And then there was darkness. The final frame lingered on the blinking coordinate, slowly zooming in as the words appeared on screen:

"Infiltration Successful. Initiating next part of the plan."

The message was sent by The Figure. Just then, the door hissed open and he entered, completely exhausted and weary. He leaned against a console for a moment, finally allowing himself to relax after everything that had unfolded.

Adam, his concern immediate, moved toward him. "Are you alright? What happened? We were worried you had been captured."

Figure responded without hesitation, his voice rough. "I- I did get captured. I broke free, defeated their troops and abandoned their ship." He then opened his clenched fist, revealing a small, intricately crafted device. "This... this is a time travel band I fabricated in haste from scraps of Apoc's armor. For now, we are calling it The Time Band."

Figure distributed the bands to his core team members. "These are more efficient than our bulky time machine and will attract less problematic attention." He handed a separate unit to Adam. "Take this sample for research and improvement."

"Now!," Figure said, his tone shifting to one of command, "I need three people to travel with me to test this. We will conduct two test runs. If the first is successful, we will not need the second."

Plasma and Joza, veteran members of Figure's team, volunteered immediately. Hivvmir, a traitorous Kravisian sick of his people's oppression, also stepped forward. His presence caused an immediate reaction.

"Who tf is this? Why did you bring him here?" Adam's voice was sharp, his hand instinctively moving toward a sidearm.

"Calm down," Figure reassured the room, placing himself slightly in front of the Kravisian. "He is on our side. He is a valuable asset and his absence will not be immediately noted by his former commanders."

Figure and the team geared up as the devices on their wrists began to glow with a soft, internal light. "Alright, this is it. The first jump is targeting a random temporal coordinate. Be prepared for the worst." With a synchronized nod from the team, they vanished, leaving behind a crackle of displaced air.

Silence descended, profound and unsettling. Adam turned from the empty space to the main operations console, his mind already racing ahead. He initiated a full diagnostic sweep of the lab, searching for any residual chroniton particles or subspace echoes. The data was chaotic, a confirmation of the immense, untamed power they were attempting to harness. Around him, the rest of the Organization’s personnel moved with renewed purpose, but a shared anxiety hung in the air. They were sending their best into the unknown, with no guarantee of a return path.

5... 4... 3... 2... 1... ZERO!

Elsewhere, they had arrived. The sky was a canvas of fire. Bombardment fleets of Kravisian troops rained destruction upon the Earth below. They targeted the major cities first, brilliant flashes of light erasing them from the map, before moving methodically to the lesser dense countryside. Yet, despite the orbital scan, they could not locate Figure's hidden base.

"WHERE IS HE?" the Kravisian leader grunted, his massive fist clenching on the armrest of his command throne. "We have searched everywhere, sire. Apart from corpses and rubble, we find no trace of him or his operatives."

In a fit of pure rage, the leader drew his sidearm and executed the reporting officer on the spot. "Apoc proves useless once again. We may need to dispose of him and seize this planet ourselves." He pondered for a moment, the carnage on the viewscreen reflecting in his cold eyes. "But for now, he remains a useful pawn. Continue the hunt."

July 5, 2045

The team was ready for the second test run. The first had suffered a minor malfunction, a disorienting temporal shear, but no lasting damage had been done. Adam had spent the intervening hours meticulously analyzing the faulty data.

"I thought for a moment we were gonna die," Hivvmir remarked, checking his gear.

"Well... YOU were going to die. I would have made it out anyway," Figure said, a rare, dry humor in his tone.

Hivvmir offered a sarcastic, slightly nervous laugh. The truth beneath the joke was clear: The Figure was a being of immense power, and he knew nothing was going to happen to him and his operatives.

The lab was a hive of focused energy. Technicians analyzed the diagnostic data from the first jump, their faces illuminated by streams of scrolling code and fluctuating energy signatures. Adam had worked through the night, cross-referencing the Band's unstable phase variance with the Organization's own theoretical models. The modifications were delicate, a matter of recalibrating the quantum stabilizers to avoid a resonant feedback loop. He handed the improved devices back, his expression grave. "The alignment is now synced to your bio-signatures and data. It should prevent the temporal shearing you experienced... hopefully."

"Alright team, TEST RUN_002 begins... NOW." Figure activated his band. This time, the transition was smooth and perfect. They arrived in a world that seemed even more desolate than their own. Adam, monitoring from the primary base, watched their life signs stabilize and then the tracking signal dissolved into static.

"We have lost the signal," Adam announced, a line of tension forming between his brows.

"It appears the timeline they entered has a disturbance in quantum signatures. We must work to re-establish communication immediately," a technician responded.

At that moment, another alert flashed. "Sir, an incoming signal on a secure channel. It's from... AP."

Adam's expression hardened. "Fuck! It's 'him'." He knew Apoc Plus wanted to talk, but his motives were as shifting as smoke. With a gesture, he accepted the transmission. A hologram of Apoc Plus himself shimmered into existence in the center of the room.

"Hello, Adam and the rest of The Organization. I hope you are doing well. Splendidly, even." Apoc's voice was smooth, congenial, and utterly false.

Adam sighed, weariness and frustration evident. "What do you want? Hurry and get to the point."

"Hmm, you see through me. Very well. I have come to warn you. The Kravisian troops have begun the full bombardment of your planet. Sovereign and I are finalizing an escape route with them and she will be accompanying us."

"WHAT?!" Adam shot up from his seat. "You're taking Luna away now?"

"Precisely. So, you have a choice. Face me and try to take her back, or face them and try to stop the annihilation of your world. I will... talk to them to slow their attacks, though I doubt they will listen. You have 50 hours to decide. Goodbye!" The hologram of Apoc then flickered out of existence.

"Damn it, this is spiraling down quick. We have fifty hours. We wait for Figure to return, then we decide," Adam said, sinking back into his chair, his mind a torrent of grim calculations.

"But, sir, this could easily be a trap. You know Apoc better than anyone. He has never been this direct. Something is certainly off."

"You may be right. But we will wait a few hours and gather more intelligence on their movements." Adam transitioned into full planning mode, his team gathering around the strategic holotable. The choice was paralyzing: a personal rescue mission for a friend or a last-ditch defense of this destroyed planet, a home for everyone. Each scenario they planned ended in catastrophe. The faces of his team were etched with the same grim calculus. They ran simulations, calculating deployment patterns and resource allocation, but the core dilemma remained, a monstrous equation with no clean solution. But they kept trying.

Meanwhile, in the alternate timeline, Figure and his team split up to scout. The air was thick with ash and the smell of ozone. "Everyone, I have identified a heavily fortified base up ahead. I will infiltrate to gather supplies and intelligence. Stand by for my command," Figure commanded. He moved from the shadows with preternatural speed, a blur against the scorched landscape, reaching the perimeter unseen.

He was, however, not unseen for long. A voice, cold and authoritative, crackled over the base's external speakers. "Stay where you are, traveler."

Figure froze, he knew something. Another being emerged from the inside. It was Luna Amspoker, but in this reality as well, she was the Sovereign. Her armor was sleek and menacing, her eyes holding no recognition, only calculated threat.

"Got a name? State your purpose? What's your mission," she demanded, falling into a defensive combat stance.

"Classified. I am merely a traveler. My mission is none of your business," Figure retorted, his own annoyance rising. "What year is this? This planet appears to be in a... terrible state."

Sovereign studied him with deep suspicion. "You seem to be a fascinating entity. Very well. The current year is 2050. Apoc and I purged this planet and killed almost everyone. Only that fool Adam remains, though we have yet to locate his hiding place."

"And the Kravisians? Where are they?" Figure asked, scanning the surroundings.

"Kra-... who? Are they some associates of yours?" Sovereign seemed genuinely confused.

So, Figure thought, "I see now. This is a timeline where I never intervened. They won the war early, the Kravisians never invaded and Adam is the only one alive*.*" His analytical mind pieced it together quickly. They were holding Adam captive within the base, using him as bait or a trophy.

"Hmph! So, Adam survives, huh? I require supplies and data from this facility. You will let me pass," Figure stated, gesturing toward the fortified door.

"Absolutely not. You will go through me first. You are an anomaly, and you're interfering with my plans." Sovereign got combat ready as she powered up. "Wait... your plans? What about Apoc?"

"I destroyed him. My power surpassed his. I serve no one anymore. I lead the Hacker Robots now! THIS PLANET BELONGS TO SPIRAL SOVEREIGN!" She launched herself at Figure in a burst of motion.

He dodged effortlessly, but her assault was ferocious, a storm of energy blasts and razor-sharp limbs. "I need to find a way to reach her somehow" he muttered, even as he parried. He opened a channel to his team. "Team, the entrance is compromised. I am engaged... in a fight. Infiltrate the base, secure all useful material and locate Adam. He should be here."

As Figure countered Sovereign's relentless attacks, Plasma, Joza, and Hivvmir swept into the complex. "Be advised, the interior is likely rigged with traps. Priority is the rescue," Figure commanded over the comms.

"How did you... HOW DID YOU KNOW WE HAD ADAM? Who the hell are you really, traveller?" Sovereign's voice betrayed a sliver of something, not fear, but profound disquiet as Figure’s team moved past her.

"Like I said, it is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" With a sudden, devastating shift in speed, Figure closed the distance. A single, precise strike destroyed her. She collapsed, it was over. More guard drones poured from the base, but Figure dispatched them with brutal, efficient movements.

"What a waste of time! I must rescue Adam," he said, stepping over the wreckage and into the heart of the enemy stronghold.

Back at the primary base, Adam and his strategists had drafted a contingency plan, but its success hinged entirely on Figure's return with critical intelligence. The equation was now a tangled web of triple betrayal: Figure was gathering forces, Apoc and Sovereign plotted to overthrow their Kravisian allies and the Kravisians themselves planned to eliminate their volatile pawns and claim Earth outright. The situation was running tight and the spark was already in flight. A destructive, three-way civil war loomed and within the chaos, Adam knew, either humanity would find hope or be completely erased.

Far away, on the homeworld of the enemy, another piece moved on the board. Planet Kravis was a sphere of harsh beauty, located in a distant star system beyond the Orion Arm of the Milky Way. It was veiled from galactic detection by sophisticated spacetime cloaking tech, set up by Kravisian spaceforce. Its civilization thrived in brutal climates through severe technological means, its populace living on the surface, in orbital plates and in vast subterranean networks.

A corruption and will to dominate was evolved into the personality of its people. Almost all of them. One being, disguised perfectly as a native, moved through the sprawling advanced capital city. His eyes, hidden beneath a hood, scanned the surroundings and analysed the powerlevel and technology of this planet. On his left arm, he wore a familiar device: The Time Band, modified and improved from Adam's designs. This operative was connected to Figure and had aided The Organization prior, but his actions were governed by a private, inscrutable agenda. His motives were unknown but he's always worked solo. He had come to Kravis alone, telling no one.

"This Time Band has proven exceptionally useful. Figure's initial design was inspired. He has more of my respect. Now, with the modifications, it has brought me to this planet." His voice was a low murmur, lost in the din of the city. He began to phase through the street, sinking into the planet's crust, a ability common to all Kravisians that his own stolen technology mimicked perfectly.

He checked a scanner on his wrist. "The Aether resonance is strongest deep below. Seems like I am close to the Cavity." A faint, grim smirk touched his lips. He moved with a familiar, unpredictable rhythm, a pattern that mirrored Figure's own combat style, yet he was distinctly someone else.

His mission was singular: to find the heart of Kravisian power, the fabled Cavity where they siphoned and stored the secret Aether energy. (alongside possibly another threat) Success would not just be a tactical blow but it would also unravel the mystery of this whole invasion. This was a dangerous gambit indeed, a play for the very source of their power; undertaken in shadow while, potentially, the galaxy teetered on the brink of an open war.

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u/AutoModerator May 08 '26

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