Enema leaned into Aukim, who's pale burly hands traced along her willowy waist and drew her closer, enraptured in the honey brown eyes in which encaged his dynamic reflection. Of these chambers, they made a clandestine ballroom, their naked bodies joined and fitting like dovetails, dancing eagerly to traverse each other.

  They tossed along the beddings, their lips intertwined and tasting each others' eager, ardent breaths with each movement. His fingers impatiently grabbed at her blue curls, held against her crown, provoking a sweet sound that rocked and shaked from the gates of Enema's lips.

  The woman embodied the ambience of her planet; and albeit in the midst of her rapture, an anomalous energy seeped from her being in the form of an floral fragrance that wedged itself between the two, weaving through the atmosphere as if to make a home within her lover, Aukim.

  Aukim's broad frame abruptly stiffened and did not stir, Enema held still sat onto his pelvis, impotent in proceeding, held in place by her wrists.

  Curiosity painted the canvas of her countenance, searching Aukim's stony expression for reasoning.

  Aukim paused, searching Enema's figure with his tempted grey eyes, down from her breasts to her hips, to her robotic parts. When his eyes eventually raised to meet hers, they darkened with pique.

  Their eyes met, and desires assembled in beautiful assent. Relishing in the warmth of the flame sparked within each others' bodies, they conceded in this correlative craving for delectation and rocked along the ocean of hunger; melting in the flame.

  ENEMA OF VULENINE

  The sunlight poured in from an opened window, casting a light onto the windowsill plants and inviting the cool breeze inside to embrace every object in range. Sheets of paper decorated the floors of this enclosure, hanging loosely pinned onto umber wallpaper or crumpled and sprawled against the carpetted floor.

  The room was a chaotic amalgamation of a sullied 21st century apartment and a futuristic space of living. A moderately sized chesterfield couch with discoloured cushions had been awkwardly situated in the midst of the room and effectively partitioned the living room from the kitchen. Loose wires snaked through the floors and neon functions flickered through the room, and dimly underneath the walls.

  The air carried a faint smell of burnt circuits accompanied by the sound of aggrotech music blared from the speakers located beside the wide screen opposite to the couch. The confined space of this room had been significantly worsened the clustered rubbish and displaced items, and the air was stuffy. Perched onto a cushion that had been moved on the ground had been Lucia, and beside her, Enema. Both were clothed in casual-wear, Enema in an oversized sweater and Lucia in sweatpants and a sports bra.

  Lucia scrunched her freckled nose with a grin as she revealed a compact matte-black circular device, pulsating with silver and blue lights with holographic emitters within its center, its colors painting the skin of her palm.

  It was a Visuvox, both entertaining and practical. With a simple command, you could project any visual you want so long as it is recorded in its database. With billions of sources, the possibilities were endless.

  Enema and Lucia had a unique game they enjoyed playing. Conjuring up stories, and allowing the visuvox to project an accurate visual and auditory representation of their narratives.

  Lucia slicked short lime green hair behind her ear, shaking the Visuvox. She pressed down onto the button, and Enema listened with disinterest.

  'A beautiful warrior from planet Zephyros, who hopes to singlehandedly wipe out the Avaris!' Lucia described with a toothy grin.

  A bright light shone from the ball and glitched into a square display as it generated a realistic image of a woman with a sword in hand, magic brewing from its grip as she stood upon the rocky surface of the Avaris planet, a red mark of a military symbol painted onto her forehead; the Vulenine's core.

  'Too generic.' Enema grumbled, and Lucia frowned.

  'Come on, that was kind of good.' Lucia disputed before shaking her head. Pausing to envision something that she thought Enema would like, and pushing down on the button once more.

  'Ok. How about a group of adventurers, searching for answers within Avaris' borders?! Uncovering the bloody truths of the rebels!' Lucia exclaimed excitedly.

  Pixels within the display commenced to rearrange to form the image of a group of young adults, clothed in combative attire and in makeshift military weapons. They were pictured in a stereotypical view of Avaris, sophisticated buildings in the midst of civil chaos. Fire, violence and a detailed depiction of dejection. Enema leaned forward.

  'Listening...'

  'Sweet'

  Lucia pressed the button once more.

  'Continuing' She hummed. 'The group of adventurers break into Avaris' elite's quarters, finding the hundreds of files exposing the true culprits for Earth's planned destruction! And the truth that the planet could be saved and-'

  'Ok, now you've ruined it.'

  Lucia pressed the button twice and the display hadn't budged from its previous image, leaning backwards against the couch's base and furrowing her brows , perturbed.

  'But you used to love playing this.' Lucia expressed downheartedly. 'What happened?'

  Enema shrugged, raising onto her feet and staring down towards the dirty dishes.

  'You should probably do your dishes.' Enema said dismissively.

  Lucia relaxed her shoulders, sighly sadly as Enema neared towards the kitchen.

  'Zephyros isn't so bad.' Lucia started softly, placing the Visuvox down onto the floor.

  Enema stood idle, hands leaned onto the counter, listening.

  'I know you miss Earth, but this is our planet now.' Lucia stepped towards Enema. 'Besides, you have me and Aukim!' She said, embracing her from behind.

  'Yeah, you're right.' Enema agreed with a smile.

  Aukim and Lucia have never left her side.

  The door creaked open, and Aukim appeared in the doorway from the lit bedroom, dressed in a loosely tied robe, strong arms folded below his chest and dark eyebrows furrowed. An impish smirk cracked onto his lips as his grey eyes met the scene.

  'Hey, Lucia, too touchy!' Aukim scolded airily, and Lucia pulled away from Enema, holding her hands up in the air.

  'Jeez, sorry man. Didn't know that was all yours.' She chuckled, and Enema gave a lighthearted laugh.

  Aukim zipped down the room, pulling Enema into a sweet embrace, their lips meeting which had been followed by Lucia's grossed-out scoff.

  'By the way, meeting at six.' Lucia interjected.

  Enema and Aukim both exchanged glances, then looked towards Lucia, pulling away from each other promptly.

  'At what? Six? How long did you know about this?' Aukim scolded

  'Since yesterday night, got the notification on my phone. Couldn't tell you guys 'cause y'know...'

  'Fuckin' hell Lucia you're so irresponsible!' Aukim shook his head, sighing. 'Alright, when's six?'

  'In 10 minutes.'

  - - ┈┈°┈?????┈°┈┈ - -

  The city whirred with energy, a polished megalopolis of gravity-defying architecture, luminous neon lights and skyscrapers that stretched to disappeared into the sky from the eye's view. Megastructures danced between the lines of the physical and digital, glitching holographically, mass constructs comprived of databases, buzzing with electrcitity and the faint scent of cigars floated through the air. Sky bridges were accompanied with trains that routed on tracks in mid-air and weaved between them, and the streets were cluttered with all sorts of Artificial Intelligence.

  Cyborgs, humanoids and Xenoneutrals alike roamed the streets of one of Zephyros' most active cities, Luminex, a populated area for galactic diversity. Artificial street sweepers preserved the cleanliness of the city, operating almost rhymitically and evading intervening with the paths of pedestrians, and bioluminescent plants casted a glow. Human-presenting Androids greeted tourists, assisted in providing directional assistance, and an android with a thickly lined crowd surrounding it had been elucidating general information on the city.

  The year was 5023 and they were late.

  Enema, Lucia and Aukim ran down the path, hurriedly slipping through obstacles of people to head in the direction of the bus depot. It had been their daily route, engrained in their minds and so even in a rush they seemed to have no issues keeping each other in sight, not even deviating a few meters away. They turned a corner towards the entrance, descrying the bus and gathering at the doors amongst a few others. The double-decker bus levitated, with sleek doors and an unmarked exterior; as this was typically the quality of city buses within Luminex.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  Managing to squeeze in to the front of the swarm, panting. Aukim stepped through the open doors up the stairs, meeting an android seated in the drivers' seat. A thin translucent barrier stopped him from proceeding, forcing him to stand out and simply wait. The android had a generally white exterior, a round featureless face and a robotic skeletal like body with metallic white balls binding its joints together.

  'Fuckin' android.' Aukim muttered underneath his breath and kissed his teeth.

  When an android was behind the wheel it typically made journeys more troublesome.

  The android faced in their direction, its sensors radiating a blue glow, scanning all of their faces. A digital profile of their occupation, residences and societal statuses appeared in its view, and thus could decipher that the three of them had been travelling together underneath the same agency, Vulenine.

  'Tickets?' It questioned.

  Real people probably wouldn't ask for tickets. Real people would just do their fucking job and get paid.

  'One sec..uh...' Aukim rummaged through his jean pockets and then patted down his jacket in search for their tickets he most likely had forgotten to bring.

  'Here!' Lucia stepped forward and stretched her arm out past Aukim, presenting three small sheets of paper. 'One for me, this guy over here and my lovely lady friend.' She said with bounce.

  The android took the sheets of paper, turned its head downwards to scan them and then nodded its head.

  'Approved.' It chimed.

  'See I'm so irresponsible but I never forget to bring our tickets.' Lucia boasted proudly which received relieved chuckles in response.

  They took the upstairs, sitting down in the roof-less vehicle, as they routinely enjoyed the gentle breeze and gazing down at the streets from above. They looked down towards the crowd of people still gathered by the entrance of the bus, waiting to be approved.

  'Alright, let's address the elephant in the room.' Enema started. 'Will we make it in time?'

  'I dunno.' Aukim responded. As a genius, he probably should've know.

  'Well it took us 4 minutes to get here.' Lucia started.

  'Probably another 3 minutes to reach our district.' Enema interjected with a curled finger rested against her chin.

  'Realistically, five. All those people still need to be approved. And so...That leaves us one minute to actually get to the meeting. Depending on traffic.' Aukim added.

  'Fuck.' Lucia cursed, clasping her hands together. 'I vote we say screw the bus, we could beat it.'

  'Nah.' Enema rivalled, and Lucia and Aukim exchanged the same worried glances. '60 seconds to get their after the bus, yeah. That's a fun challenge.'

  'What, Enema, you don't mean...' Lucia commented, shaking her head and looking towards Aukim for an opinion.

  'We haven't had a bit of fun in ages, I'd say it's worth a shot. It's only one meeting, and knowing us, we won't be late.' Aukim said. 'We'll beat it.'

  'Fine.' Lucia gave in. 'I guess it would be a bit of fun. I haven't used my magic in ages! We can race! Bet I'll win again.'

  'Hell no, you won't!' Aukim argued.

  'Oh, you're so on!' Enema challenged.

  It wasn't soon before the bus commenced to advance forwards, blaring red words spelled onto a small black projector reading the words 'NeoAurora,' the district in which their base had been located in.

  'You were right, Aukim. Five minutes in total.' Enema praised, her eyes latched onto the screen of her wrist-watch that projected a holographic image of a live digital clock. The others turned to look, watching the clock's seconds alter. It was 5:56am and 43 seconds until the next minute.

  'When am I ever wrong?' He teased and Lucia rolled her eyes.

  Well, he wasn't lying. Aukim had been highly favoured within the entry ranks of Vulenine because of his gifted intellect and natural interest in technology. He's fashioned enthralling machinery already and Enema and Lucia have always served as testers. Dangerous, yes, but if anything went wrong they could request a stem-cell reconstruction from their AI familiars. Of course, another gift from Vulenine.

  Enema did tend to stray away from allowing Aukim to mess around with her robotic parts. They typically take great effort to mend, and as a cyborg, it was more than undesirable to have to undergo repair.

  The zipped through the air down the street, buildings bluring into streaks of light, the three safeguarded through a barrier; shimmering like prisms, encasing the bus. High speed tech was surely helpful in turning hour long journeys into minutes, making the NeoAurora district just three minutes away.

  'Well, fingers crossed, ladies.' Aukim remarked.

  'Ooh, if this doesn't work I'll blame you two.' Lucia said.

  'Come on, it will.' Enema said with a wide smile, and Lucia nudged her playfully.

  In the midst of their conversation, a woman swayed up the bus stairs up onto the second floor with deliberate, fluid movements. Her boots tapping against the metal steps, green eyes elevating to look at the group from underneath black bangs as her trench coat swayed behind her. As she ascended, her shoulders squared with confidence, the three acknowledging her presence, but moving on quickly.

  'Anyways, even if we're late what're we gonna tell Commander.' Lucia questioned.

  The time ticked, 5:57am, 21 seconds until the next hour.

  'Uh, let's just say we got into a fight.' Enema said, shrugging. 'Shit, I don't know.'

  'A fight? She'll think less of us.' Aukim disagreed, rumagging through his pocket for a smoke. 'God, I need a smoke. Aye, Lucia, you got a cig?'

  Lucia shrugged languidly, reaching for her pockets, a small bright charm escaping and gliding onto the floor.

  'Oops!' She leaned sideways to retrieve it.

  A bullet whizzed past Lucia, impacting the bus seat beside her with a sharp high-pitched zing followed by a distorted metallic thunk. The bullet left a mystical blue residual, and a faint crackling noise emitted from the seat as the kinetic energy diffused.

  The two stared towards the culprit, the woman from posterior sporting a neutral expression on her face that had not faltered, even with the failed assasination attempt. Instead, she abruptly reloads, generating a response from Aukim.

  Aukim pulls forward, grasping onto the arm of the woman to restrict her movements further and potentially wrest the gun from her, Lucia sprawling onto her feet, patting herself for a weapon.

  Their gear had been left at their base. She breathed a curse in panic.

  The bus continued in motion, holographic lights reflecting from the borders encasing the bus onto the scene admist the struggle.

  The woman jerked her bent arm backwards, colliding with Aukim's nose, provoking him to stumble backwards against the railings of the bus with a yelp. Her gun elevated in her grip once more, glowering down onto Aukim, taking aim.

  Twisting her body sideways, Enema slammed the heel of her foot onto the face of the woman with immense force, her pants lifting subsequently to unveil a robotic leg in place of flesh. The unknown woman stumbled backwards, a jagged crack formulating across her cheek, exposing glinting glowing material residing within. It's gun slid across the floor and its eyes peeled wide with full focus.

  A robot?

  Enema took a fighting stance, and Aukim staggered back onto his feet. The ambient hum of the bus continuing.

  'A fucking robot?!' He exclaimed.

  The robot quickly with calculated movements lunged back towards Enema, throwing a jab in her direction, in which she ducked under swiftly. Positioning herself underneath its arm, she pulled downwards, tearing its arm away. Sparks flew, the arm descending to the hard floor.

  The time ticked, 5:58am, 13 seconds until the next hour.

  The robot still hadn't ceased in its assault, discarding its arm and now aiming to proceed in its attack.

  BANG

  The deafening boom of a gun rang through the air as a bullet hit the robot's chest with a clang. Its eyes dimmed, and it fell forward onto its knees, smoke escaping from the wounded area into the air.

  Both Enema and Aukim turned back to look towards Lucia, who stood there,panting, gun in hand. It was the robot's gun she shot, which she seemed to have claimed from the floor.

  'Gosh...We should really start taking our gear with us.' Lucia remarked. 'That was NOT fun.'

  'Who the hell sent this thing?' Enema complained, kicking the robot over onto its side and it fell with a clang.

  'We'll find out. Wait, what time is it?' Lucia questioned.

  'Screw the time!' Aukim said speedily running down the stairs.

  It seemed as though people on the bus were fine, just absorbed in their gadgets, sleeping, or staring out of the window. Aukim inched closer towards the driver's seat, planting a hand on the robot's shoulder, watching it unresponsive, stiff. He leaned his head over its shoulder, a gaping jagged hole in its chest with its core missing, clearly the aggressive robot's doing. With nobody driving the bus, they could've been long away from their intended destination.

  'Ahh shit.' He cursed, extending his arm past the motionless robot, slamming down onto the red emergency stop button.

  The bus slowed significantly and passangers rocked in their seats as the bus reached a sudden halt. Perplexed, they looked towards Aukim, bold ones even standing to confront him.

  'Look now, calm down...' Aukim said softly.

  As Aukim backed away, the robot driver slid onto its side, then met the floor, sprawled out with a missing core. Passengers panicked and screamed, believing the bus had been under attack.

  Enema's digital clock continued to tick.

  5:59am, 50 seconds until the next hour.

  'We have to go!' Enema yelled, gliding down the steps.

  She reeled her robotic arm back and punched through the bus' barrier and it dispersed, spitting out crystal-like fragments of what it once was. Lucia followed suit, rushing out through the hole.

  'Sorry, everyone! Journey's over!' She apologised as she made a quick escape, Aukim zooming after.

  They entered the landscape of NeoAurora district, which shone with technology. Landing on the hard concrete, Enema hadn't wasted much time.

  Energy brimmed through this area as a bright blue glow emitting from the three. Abruptly, the velocity in which they had been moving at increased, hurriedly sprinting down the path that led to the NeoAurora Vulenine base.

  It was their magic that had amplified their speeds. Magic that naturally flowed through each and every living thing within Zephyros. The time ticked, weaving through steel doors.

  The base stood tall with robust tactical architecture, standing bold against the surrounding buildings, safeguarded by energy barriers which glowed faintly in varying colours.

  Guards stood at the entrance, equipped with weaponry, staring out towards the three who were sprinting, closing distance at such a rate that they couldn't react to in time. They fell backwards as the group leaped over the gate and through the barriers, triggering the sensory nodes for intrusion detection.

  The alarm blared, and they fell through the entrance, landing against the metallic ground with a thud.

  6:00am.

  The gates shut promptly after the alarm sounded, Enema blinking upwards to find a tall figure stood before them.

  It was their Commander, Selene Ardyn, staring down towards them with a stern, cold face. Her arms had been folded stiffly, the overflights casting a shadow of her silhouette onto the floor.

  'Just in time. Not bad.' Her words were devoid of warmth, and carried a certain power that rendered the room silent.

  The three rose onto their feet quickly, saluting her.

  'Commander Selene!' They greeted nervously in unison.

  'Save it.' She responded icily. 'You've set off our alarms and summoned our guards who believed there were intruders.'

  She stepped closer.

  'You put our exterior into lockdown, wasting our resources.'

  The group stiffened, anxiously.

  'Whilst barely making it to the meeting.'

  The hall fell quiet, and there wasn't a word uttered amongst any of them. Their peers had been watching the encounter, including the guards. Enema could feel their judging eyes rest upon her, and she shrunk in the presence of Commander Selene's authority.

  'I wouldn't expect anything less from my three biggest rascals' She commented, followed by a hearty laugh, patting the shoulders of Lucia and Aukim, and giving Enema a smile.

  The room seemed to laugh with her, seemingly following suit. Her influence was immeasurable.

  'Loosen up.' She said, her eyes watching Enema, before turning away from them, clasping her hands. 'We will now proceed to the meeting hall for those within my unit. We will continue matters there.'

  The three let out relieved sighs, sharing glances and smiling.

  'Told you we'd beat it.' Enema said cheekily and Lucia nudged her.

  They followed behind Commander Selene.

  It seemed that they had almost forgotten about the attacking robot from before, whose eyes began to light up with life, idly on the bus.