Longing of a Good Drink

Those few seconds stretched into an eternity of agony. The energy surge intensified, and every sensor, sensory line, and circuit in Kai's body screamed in protest. His metallic muscles, if they could be called that, convulsed uncontrollably.

His optical sensors went haywire, the light from his vision intensifying with each surge. His grip on the lines weakened, and he struggled to remain standing. 

In desperation, he slammed his feet against the floor, digging his own heels in the metal ground. Responding to his desperate will, the plates on his feet shifted and locked with whirs and clicks, anchoring him in place.

Despite his efforts, Kai's fingers spasmed, and the energy lines began to slip from his grasp with a screech of tortured metal. 

Blue light still pulsed from his hands, the heat so intense that his fingers glowed white-hot, yet miraculously, they remained intact.

As Kai's agonizing screams echoed through the chamber, he suddenly felt a brief moment of subconscious clarity and relief, as the energy pathways within his body straightened and streamlined. But in his current state, there was no time to analyze it.

Suddenly, through the haze of pain, Seraphina's voice crackled over the comms with the words he wanted to hear, barely audible and distorted by the energy surge, finally broke through.

[...charge... complete... let go...]

With a final, desperate surge of willpower, Kai forced his fingers open. A shower of molten metal droplets erupted from the line locks he had been clutching, and the energy lines slipped from his grasp.

The locks on his feet retracted, releasing him from his anchored position. He collapsed to the floor with a deafening thud, his body radiating intense heat. His vision flickered and faded, the world dissolving into a chaotic blur of shapes and colors.

A whirring sound approached from behind, growing louder as droids rushed to Kai's aid. They surrounded him, their mechanical limbs moving with practiced efficiency.

Small white tanks clutched in their grasp, as they began spraying a frosty mist over his overheating form.

The mist, a strange white concoction with small shining particles, instantly froze upon contact with Kai's heated metal, forming a dense layer of sapphire-blue crystals. 

Within seconds, the crystal rapidly cooled him down, cracking and shattering into shimmering pieces after a few seconds.

Steam billowed from every joint, a silent sigh of relief as his systems stabilized. The color of his fingers gradually shifted from white-hot to their original black metal, though some areas remained patchy from the extreme heat.

A minute later, Kai's vision returned, the world snapping back into focus. He groaned and pushed himself up, leaning on a nearby droid for support as his position sensors were still disturbed, sending a wave of nausea over him.

"I never want to do that again," he rasped, his voice a mixture of exhaustion and lingering fear. "But can't be happy yet."

He took a deep breath, steam billowing from his vents like a sigh of relief. "Hey, Sera," he said into the comms, his voice shaky but resolute. "Turn these babies on. The storm's coming."

As he limped towards the exit, supported by the droid, a deep rumble shook the chamber. 

The ion thrusters roared to life, filling the space with a low, growing roar. Outside, rings of neon blue light flared around the thrusters, their intensity and size increasing with each passing second. Then...

The entire Colossus vanished in a blink.

Inside, silence reigned for several heartbeats.

Then, Seraphina's voice, filled with tension, echoed through the room. "Master..."

She paused, causing Kai's life to leap into his throat. Then, in a relieved tone, she exclaimed, "...we did it! You did it, Master!"

Kai hearing this, slumped against the cold metal floor, a shaky laugh escaping his lips. The near-death experience and the adrenaline rush like feeling finally caught up with him, leaving him weak and trembling.

"I did it," he murmured, clenching his fist.

"We did it, Dad," he whispered, his head bowed. "I didn't give up," The words hung in the air, like a silent promise echoing across the vastness of two worlds, accompanied by small laughs of kai's disbelief.

But the laughter faded, replaced by a longing ache. If he could, he would have wept tears of relief. But his metallic eyes remained dry.

"Hey, Sera," he said, rising shakily, his voice regaining its usual strength. "Is there somewhere on this floor where I can... see that storm? The one I almost fried myself to avoid."

Seraphina's voice, now calm and even, replied.

[A few hundred meters down the corridor, there's an observation deck with a large viewing window, which I think you'll really like.]

Kai, detecting a hint of relieving humor in Seraphina's voice, scoffed lightly. His limbs still slightly shaky, he made his way to the observation deck.

As he entered, the lights flickered on, and the massive shutters covering the panoramic window slowly retracted, revealing the breathtaking scene outside.

The Colossus had already maneuvered out of the storm's trajectory, and and the swirling maelstrom of energy surged past the point where the ship had once been. 

It wasn't the destructive tempest one might imagine from its name, but rather a mesmerizing ocean of colors, dominated by dense golden hues, flowing like beach waves on a shore of black velvet of space, moving forward with relentless speed.

The sight soothed Kai's soul as he settled into a chair, sighing with contentment as he basked in the storm's cosmic light. "This view would be even better with a drink," he murmured softly.

Seraphina's voice broke the silence, a hint of wistfulness in her tone, keeping Kai from feeling alone.

 [It is beautiful, isn't it? I wish I could feel its warmth too, instead of just seeing it through visual feeds.]

Kai paused, a small smile forming on his metallic face. "Don't worry," he said, "I'll make that happen for you one day."

Seraphina hesitated for a moment before asking, 

[I've been wanting to ask this for a while now... Why did you change the way you address me?]

Kai's smile widened. "Hmm, about that..." he began. "I just thought that we've been through a lot together, even though I mostly get into trouble. It felt like a good time to become friends."

Flustered, Seraphina replied.

[Fri-friends? Like, in the sense of feeling comfortable and connected to someone? If so, can I call you by name too? A- As a... friend?]

Kai nodded. "Of course, you can."

Seraphina hesitated, then said, [Then, Xy-Xyvax...]

Kai was taken aback by the Xerion name he saw in the evosystem. "Y-yeah, Xyvax," he responded with a wry smile. They passed the time in peaceful conversation, or rather, Seraphina's excited questions.

[Xyvax, what type of body will you make for me? When will you make it? What about preferences? Do you have any? I would be content if you made a body that you like.]

To each question, Kai gave a simple, cryptic response like an answering machine: "W.E. W.I.L.L. S.E.E. I.N. F.U.T.U.R.E."

Eventually, the energy storm passed, leaving behind only faint wisps of energy. In those tendrils, Kai noticed something...