"Did he just... drink it?" Sol’s voice cracked, his eyes wide as he stared at the man who had just swallowed his explosive darkness without flinching. "He drank my attack like it was a damn protein shake!"

  Angelo stepped past Sol, the silver blade of Mercy’s Edge angling dangerously toward the pale, robed figure. "Where did you get that?" His voice was low, vibrating with a dangerous frequency.

  "Hm?" Clay blinked, feigning mild surprise as he held up his forearm, inspecting the metallic implants embedded in his flesh. "Oh, this little thing?"

  "Cut the innocent act, you albino cue-ball!" Red snarled, his crimson aura flaring hot enough to distort the air.

  Blue moved to Angelo’s side, his posture rigid. He adjusted his non-existent glasses, but his eyes betrayed a cold, lethal recognition. "I will ask you only once," Blue said, his voice devoid of its usual scholarly detachment. "Did you acquire that material from the woman known as Jill?"

  Neiva, still reeling from her collision with the cliff face, shook her head to clear the dizziness. At the mention of that name, her fatigue vanished, replaced by a jolt of adrenaline. She scrambled to her feet, Trinergy scythe in hand.

  "Jill?" Clay rolled the name around his mouth, brow furrowing. "I’m afraid the name means nothing to me."

  "Liar!" Angelo roared, his patience snapping. "You expect us to believe you didn't strip that Void Metal from the Grim Reaper's corpse?"

  Clay sighed, the sound of a man bored by a tedious conversation. "I assure you, I have no knowledge of any 'Reapers'."

  Sol stepped in, placing a cautionary hand on Angelo’s shoulder. "Angelo, ease up. What is this about?"

  Angelo didn't answer; his face was a mask of pure fury.

  "If you won't answer him, answer me!" Red screamed, stepping past Sol. "How the hell do you have Void Metal?!"

  "What is Void Metal?" Sol asked, looking between the enraged triplets and the confused Neiva. Even Ritto let out a low, grinding "Mm?" that sounded inquisitive.

  Blue didn't look away from Clay. "Jill, the serial killer we dispatched, was an evolved metal Auron. Her ability allowed her to manifest Void Metal—a substance she described as a sponge with an insatiable thirst for energy."

  "Preposterous," Clay scoffed, brushing dust from his robes. "This isn't some magical byproduct. This is a synthesized compound, the result of the unparalleled genius of Dr. T—"

  "TWO!" Ritto barked, the mechanical sound tearing through the air like a warning siren.

  Clay froze, his pale skin flushing slightly. He cleared his throat, waving a hand dismissively. "Forget I said anything. Slip of the tongue."

  "Who is Dr. T?" Angelo demanded, raising his scythe.

  Red snorted, his tension momentarily breaking. "Wait, your name is Two? Like the number? Did your parents run out of ideas after 'One'?"

  "Coming from the guy named after a primary color," Sol deadpanned, though his eyes remained locked on the threat.

  Clay’s expression hardened. The playful facade dropped, replaced by clinical coldness. "Enough of this." The pink marble embedded in his palm began to glow with an ominous light. "Since you're so curious about my capabilities, let's see if your 'Jill' could do this."

  He thrust his palm forward. Pink firebolts erupted from his hand, screaming across the clearing like meteors.

  "Scatter!" Angelo commanded.

  The group dove in opposite directions just as the firebolts struck the earth. The ground didn't just burn; it hissed and blackened, scorched by an unnatural heat.

  Sol rolled to his feet, eyeing the charred earth. "That's not darkness energy," he muttered, analyzing the residue. "He didn't just absorb my attack... he converted it."

  There was no time for further analysis. Ritto launched himself forward, a tank of flesh and machinery moving with terrifying speed.

  "Neiva, with me!" Angelo shouted.

  Teacher and student met the charge. Neiva’s yellow Force aura flared, granting her strength far beyond her frame, while Angelo swung Mercy’s Edge in a deadly arc. Their Trinergy weapons sparked against Ritto’s buzzsaw and retractable blade, the screech of metal on energy filling the clearing.

  Ritto parried Angelo’s strike with his saw and caught Neiva’s scythe with his metal hand. Emerald lightning crackled along his mechanical limbs, discharging into them.

  "ARGH!" Neiva screamed as the voltage locked her muscles.

  Angelo gritted his teeth against the pain, trying to pull back, but Ritto spun, his metal leg sweeping them both off their feet and sending them crashing into the dirt.

  Sol saw his opening. "My turn!"

  Silver darkness wrapped around his limbs as he blitzed Ritto. He unleashed a flurry of kicks and punches, each impact detonating with explosive force. Ritto weaved and blocked, refusing to let the darkness make direct contact with his flesh.

  "You can't dodge forever!" Sol shouted.

  A pink lightning bolt struck the ground inches from Sol’s feet. He leaped back instinctively just as the earth detonated, the shockwave tumbling him backward.

  Sol landed in a crouch, eyes wide. "Okay, that was definitely my explosive darkness he just fired back at us. This guy is a walking mirror!"

  "These two are are getting on my last nerve!" Angelo growled, pulling himself up. Neiva staggered to her feet beside him, clutching her side.

  "You and me both," she wheezed.

  Angelo glanced at her, then at the biodroids. "Neiva, grab Sol and fall back. I have a plan, but I need space."

  "What?" Neiva looked hurt. "I can still—"

  "Do it!"

  Neiva hesitated, then nodded. She grabbed Sol’s arm. "Come on, silver boy. Let's give them room."

  As they retreated, Angelo, Red, and Blue shot into the sky, their auras trailing behind them. Ritto and Clay watched them rise, making no move to stop them.

  "There is only one effective countermeasure for Void Metal," Angelo projected to his duplicates.

  "Overload it," Red finished, grinning savagely.

  "Precisely," Blue agreed. "If it acts as a sponge, let us see how much water it can hold before it bursts."

  "NOW!" Angelo roared.

  The three of them unleashed a torrent of energy blasts—crimson, azure, and orange—raining down on the biodroids like an orbital bombardment.

  Clay laughed, stepping in front of Ritto. He raised his hand, the green marble pulsing hungrily. "Fools! You're just feeding me!"

  The energy slammed into his palm, swirling into the marble and traveling up his arm into the Void Metal implants. He drank it all, his aura swelling with stolen power.

  But the barrage didn't stop.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  The metal implants on Clay’s arms began to vibrate, emitting a high-pitched whine that rose in pitch every second.

  "Hm?" Clay frowned, glancing at his forearm. "Capacity warning?"

  "Ha!" Red shouted from above. "Say goodbye to your fancy jewelry, Baldy! Keep pouring it on!"

  Ritto took a step toward Clay, his single human eye widening with concern. "Two..."

  Clay didn't retreat. Instead, he grounded his feet, his green aura flaring violently. He took a deep breath, his body straining as he forced the chaotic energy inside the metal to submit. The high-pitched whining stabilized, then shifted tone. The green glow around the metal turned a blinding silver.

  Blue stopped firing. "That energy signature..."

  "It matches Trinergy," Angelo whispered, horror dawning.

  Clay looked up, disappointment etched on his face. "It seems this energy cannot be fully analyzed. Pity." He aimed his pink marble at them. "Oh well. Return to sender."

  A Trinergy Bomb rocketed from his palm.

  "DODGE!" Angelo screamed.

  The explosion engulfed the sky, the shockwave slamming them into the ground. Debris rained down on the overturned CampShip, burying it further.

  Clay whistled, inspecting his smoking palm. "That packs quite a punch. Shame I can't replicate it. Would you be so kind as to provide a refill?"

  The triplets rose from the crater, dust falling from their shoulders. Their eyes burned with a unified fury.

  "No more games," Angelo said, his voice cold.

  They rushed in.

  It was a massacre. Ritto was a fortress of martial prowess, his mechanical enhancements making him faster and stronger than anything they had faced. He parried scythes with his bare metal hands and countered with surgical precision.

  Every time they resorted to energy attacks, Clay was there, intercepting and absorbing the blast, only to fire it back as fire, lightning, or Sol’s explosive darkness.

  Neiva watched from the tree line, teeth grinding. "It’s perfect synergy. The big one is the tank and damage dealer, and the bald one the DPS with infinite mana absorption. They cover every weakness."

  "Thank you," Clay called out, not even looking her way as he absorbed a crimson blast. "I assume 'DPS' is a compliment."

  "DIE!" Red screamed, using Remote Energy Manipulation to manifest energy claws directly behind Clay’s neck.

  "What the—" Clay spun, blocking the claws with his forearm. He tried to absorb the energy, but the claws remained solid. "This solid energy... immune to absorption?"

  "FINALLY!" Red snarled. "WITH ME!"

  Angelo and Blue synced up instantly. A massive Trinergy blade materialized above Clay, dropping like a guillotine.

  Ritto moved in a blur. His metal leg snapped up, shattering the construct before it could connect. He followed through with a wave of emerald lightning that forced the triplets to scatter, breaking their concentration.

  "Tch," Angelo hissed, skidding to a halt. "The brute is smarter than he looks."

  Clay brushed off his shoulder, his face twisting in disgust. "Shame on you. Assuming intellect based on appearance? Absolutely barbaric stereotypes."

  "Save us the lecture!" Red yelled, raising his fist for another charge.

  Meanwhile, in MountShade

  Maxwell Guilford stared at the empty scanner screen, a long, weary sigh escaping his lips. "We scanned the entire perimeter. Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

  Vera slumped against the console, looking miserable. "It’s my fault. My deductions... I led us on a wild goose chase."

  Sienna stepped in immediately, wrapping an arm around the despondent detective. "Don't do that to yourself. Your logic was sound." She shot a sharp look at Maxwell. "Right?"

  Maxwell’s mustache twitched. "A-ah, yes. Of course. The deduction was brilliant. The target simply... wasn't cooperative."

  Kirren leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head. "Yeah! And hey, you suggested we come here, and what did we find? That massive light show in the sky! That wasn't nothing."

  Vera looked down at her shoes. "But it was a false lead. Whoever generated that light wasn't Angelo."

  "Yeah," Kirren agreed idly, staring at the ceiling. "Makes you wonder what they were running away from."

  Vera froze. Her head snapped up, eyes wide. "Wait. What did you just say?"

  "Hm?" Kirren blinked. "Me? Nothing important."

  "You said they were running," Vera pressed, stepping away from Sienna. "Why would you think that?"

  "Oh, that." Kirren shrugged. "I mean, why else would they attack us on sight and then bolt? They probably thought we were chasing them."

  "Holy shit..." Vera’s lips trembled. She slapped her forehead with a loud smack. "HOW DID I MISS TO THAT?!" She grabbed her coat, already moving toward the door.

  "Wait!" Maxwell reached out. "Detective, explain yourself!"

  "Get to the Scorpion! We have to move, now!" Vera shouted, her energy returning in a rush. Seeing their confusion, she spoke fast. "If they were running away, that means there was a threat at the location of the light. Someone else was there. We were tracking the victim, not the source!"

  Maxwell’s eyes widened in horror. They had swept a massive radius around MountShade, but the lightning had originated far outside their search zone. "He went... that way." He grabbed his coat. "Everyone to the ship! NOW!"

  Kirren cracked his knuckles, grinning. "Finally! Some action! Ready or not, Angelo. Here I come!"

  Sienna bumped his shoulder, smiling. "You mean we."

  "Haha, right. Here we come!"

  Back in the Forest Clearing

  The skirmish had ground to a stalemate, but the cost was visible. The Trinergy armor on everyone was cracked and failing, shards of silver light flaking off with every movement. Their bodies were bruised, their breathing ragged.

  Sol turned to Angelo, not dropping his guard. "We need to bail. I doubt those two can fly."

  "Do you really think they'll let us leave?!" Angelo snapped, wiping blood from his nose.

  "He's right," Clay chimed in cheerfully. "We won't."

  A vein pulsed on Angelo’s forehead. If Red had a physical forehead, a vein would have popped there too. Even Neiva was seething at the biodroid's arrogance.

  Sol’s mind raced for an exit strategy, but Angelo’s voice cut through his thoughts.

  "HEY BALDY!"

  Clay raised an eyebrow, unamused. "That is a rather unpleasant way of addressing someone."

  Angelo’s face twisted into a pained smile that looked disturbingly like Red’s. "You wanted more of our energy, right?"

  Wings of orange light erupted from Angelo’s back. Red and Blue mirrored him instantly. He leaped thirty feet into the air, hovering above the biodroids.

  "Then wait right there," Angelo said, his voice dripping with ominous promise. "And you'll get it."

  The three formed a tight triangle in the air. Blue placed his left palm over Angelo's hands; Red placed his right. A silver spark ignited in the center, growing rapidly into an aggressive, unstable sphere. It looked different from any Trinergy attack they had attempted before—it pulsed like a living heart, the silver surface churning with veins of violent color.

  Ritto crouched, ready to intercept, but Clay stepped in front of him, throwing an arm out to block his path. "Wait."

  "Two?" Ritto rumbled, his gears grinding. "What... are you... doing?"

  "I'll handle this." Clay’s voice was steel.

  "But... they... are obviously... trying to... overwhelm—" Ritto broke into a fit of mechanical coughing.

  "I know," Clay said softly. "But have some confidence. Record it. We need to gather as much data as we can." He glanced over his shoulder, his mismatched eyes meeting Ritto’s single human one. "This is the only way."

  Ritto’s eye widened. His metal teeth ground together with a terrible sound, but he nodded once and stepped back.

  Clay turned his attention back to the sky. The silver mass was growing larger, the pulsing becoming a rhythmic thrum. Cracks appeared on Red and Blue’s physical forms where their armor had failed. Blood began to drip from Angelo’s nose. Yet, their focus was absolute.

  Sol looked anxious, his instincts screaming that this was too much power. Neiva watched with a deadly expression, silently rooting for her mentors to obliterate the enemy.

  "Ready to fire!" Blue announced, his voice commanding.

  Red let out a maniacal laugh, looking down at Clay with pure bloodlust. "Laugh for me one last time, okay?"

  "Ha. Ha." Clay deadpanned.

  Red’s laughter only grew louder, unhinged and satisfied.

  Angelo’s eyes burned like suns beneath his hood. "TRINERGY..."

  The mass writhed between their palms, shifting violently.

  "...FORCE!"

  The sphere exploded outward, not as a beam, but as a tidal wave of blinding silver light. It looked like ocean foam in a hurricane coming to life, seeking nothing but vengeance.

  Clay raised both hands this time.

  The wave swallowed him whole. It cratered the earth, dissolving rock and tree alike like acid through paper. The only thing left standing was the small patch of earth beneath Clay.

  He was drinking it all.

  "TWOOO!" Ritto screamed, his voice distorted by static.

  "AhhhhhhhhhhAHHHHHHHHHH!" Clay screamed back, the sound tearing from his throat. The metal implants on his arms began to fracture. His pink eye strobed like a dying LED. Blood started flowing backward from his nose and eyes, evaporating instantly into the silver torrent. Even the marbles in his palms began to crack under the strain.

  He gritted his teeth, holding the line. Waiting for the critical mass.

  When he felt like he would burst, his pink eye flared blindingly bright.

  "REVERSE INPUT. MAX!"

  The world froze for a heartbeat.

  Then, a beam of silver energy laced with sickly green shot from Clay’s palms. It wasn't continuous; it was a single, shotgun blast of absolute rejection.

  It hit the incoming Trinergy Force and shattered it. The blast wave rippled upward, catching the triplets in mid-air.

  There was no scream. Red and Blue simply disintegrated, their forms scattered into nothingness. Angelo was launched backward like a ragdoll, slamming into the cliff face with enough force to bury him deep within the rock.

  "ANGELO!" Neiva’s scream tore through the night.

  "Shit!" Sol dropped into a battle stance. He saw Clay swaying, eyes unfocused, body wrecked and bloody. "HAHHHHHHH!" Sol launched himself forward, aiming to finish it.

  But Ritto was there.

  The buzzsaw arm came down, blocking Sol’s path. Sol jumped back as Ritto scooped Clay up in his other arm, leaping to the far side of the clearing.

  "Two! Talk to me!" Ritto yelled, shaking the smaller biodroid.

  "See..." Clay whispered, a soft, broken smile touching his lips. "Told you I could handle it."

  His eyes rolled back, and he went limp in Ritto’s grasp.

  Ritto’s metal jaw trembled. "W-what... Should I do... Now!?" He coughed, blood leaking from his mouth. "Did we... gather enough? Mm?!" He shook the sleeping biodroid. "Disengage?! Please... Two... Wake up..."

  Across the clearing, Neiva was frantically digging at the cliff face, tears streaming down her face as she tried to reach her mentor, her anchor, before it was too late.

  She paused.

  A silver light was leaking through the rubble. She could feel a vibration—a hum of power that shouldn't be there.

  Ritto turned around, raising his mechanical arms to shield his unconscious brother. He stared at the rubble, his red eye whirring as it tried to focus.

  Something was coming.