Chapter 10

A flurry of activity erupted within The Green House. Under Clara's guidance, the residents mobilized with a newfound urgency. Tobias, his eyes gleaming with a mix of excitement and fear, huddled with Jax, their combined expertise working on fortifying the perimeter fence. The fence, originally intended to deter scavengers and small predators, now seemed hopelessly inadequate against the might of the Titans. But they worked tirelessly, weaving thick vines amongst the metal posts, reinforcing them with salvaged scrap metal, and strategically planting thorny bushes to create a natural barrier.

Sarah, the botanist, led a team in preparing a concoction of potent plant toxins, hoping to create a makeshift chemical weapon to deter the smaller Titan units. Naomi, guided by Clara, spent hours in meditation, focusing on strengthening her connection with the Orb. She envisioned using its power to create a dense, impenetrable wall of plant growth around The Green House, a living barricade to slow the Titans' advance.

Days blurred into nights. Sleep was a precious commodity, stolen in short bursts between preparations. The Green House, once a haven of peace midst the ruins of the world, now stood on the precipice of war. The battle for their survival, it seemed, was about to begin.

Nell paced the confines of Tobias's cluttered workshop, a frown creasing his brow so deep it seemed permanently etched there. The air was thick with the metallic tang of welding fumes and the acrid bite of burnt circuitry. Remnants of the fallen Titan scouts lay sprawled on makeshift workbenches, their once-menacing forms nothing but twisted metal and shattered circuitry. Dismantled limbs and scorched torsos were testament to the desperate battle that had unfolded within The Green House's walls.

Beside him, Tobias, his weathered face etched with a lifetime of tinkering and the grime of recent repairs, meticulously examined a salvaged power core. His calloused fingers, gnarled with age and years of handling tools, danced over the smooth metal casing. Their initial distrust, fueled by Nell's rough exterior and Tobias's reclusiveness, had melted away in the wake of the Titan attack. Nell, pragmatic and action-oriented, knew victory relied on more than brute force alone. Tobias possessed a wealth of knowledge about the very technology that encased the Titans, knowledge that could be their key to survival.

"See this, Nell?" Tobias asked, holding up a fist-sized sphere that pulsed with a faint blue light, the last vestiges of its former power. "Fusion core. Powers the whole walking arsenal." His voice, roughened by years of breathing in workshop dust, held a hint of awe, even in the face of its destruction.

Nell leaned in, his mechanical arm whirring softly as it adjusted his balance to compensate for the uneven floor. The glint of his eye gleamed in the dim light of the hanging lanterns. "And how stable is it?" he inquired, his voice a low monotone.

Tobias snorted, a dry rasping sound that echoed in the cluttered space. "Stable as a rabid badger in a teacup," he chuckled, shaking his head. "These scavenged materials, they weren't meant for sustained energy output. Push it too hard, and…" he trailed off, gesturing towards the smoldering remains of a scout chassis sprawled across a nearby workbench, a stark reminder of the consequences.

A spark ignited in Nell's eyes. It was a flicker of possibility, a spark of ingenuity born from desperation. "Push it too hard," he echoed, a thoughtful hand stroking his chin, the metal cool against his skin. "So, a critical weakness could lie in overheating?"

Tobias chuckled again, this time a dry, rasping sound that held a hint of amusement. "Maybe. Maybe not," he admitted. "But it's a start, ain't it? We need to dismantle these things, piece by piece. Understand how they tick, what makes them go boom."

The following days became a whirlwind of activity within the workshop. Nell, with his understanding of robotics honed through years as a City scavenger, and Tobias, with his knowledge of salvaged technology gleaned from a lifetime of tinkering, dissected the Titan remains with a methodical frenzy. Hours melted away as they scribbled notes on makeshift charts, their initial suspicion replaced by a shared sense of purpose. The cacophony of their work filled the workshop – the rhythmic clang of tools against metal, the hiss of torches, and the muttered curses under their breath as another component defied their understanding.

Nell, his focus laser-sharp, delved into the intricate wiring of the scout's limbs, tracing the flow of energy from the fusion core to the hydraulic pistons that powered their movements. His mechanical hand, nimble and precise, navigated the tangled mess of wires with the same ease an artist wields a brush. He documented every glitch, every anomaly in the system, each piece of information a potential thread to unravel the Titans' complex design.

Tobias, on the other hand, focused on the sensory systems and communication protocols. He theorized that overloading the Titans' internal communications grid could disrupt their coordination, turning their army into a disorganized herd of metallic beasts. Hunched over a salvaged control panel with a magnifying glass, his brow furrowed in concentration, he studied the alien circuitry with the intensity of a scholar deciphering ancient texts.

As the days went by, a flicker of hope began to surface. Nell, hunched over a salvaged control panel with unwavering focus, spotted something intriguing. The thermal regulator for the fusion core was nothing more than a standard, off-the-shelf model, likely repurposed from an old, forgotten machine—completely inadequate for the massive energy it was tasked with controlling.

"Here," he called out to Tobias, his voice tinged with excitement that crackled through the workshop. "Look at this. This thermal regulator wouldn't last a day powering a greenhouse heater, let alone a walking war machine."

Tobias peered over his shoulder, a slow smile spreading across his face. Wrinkles creased the corners of his eyes, etching themselves deeper with the dawning realization. "Bingo," he rasped, his voice gruff. One good overload and those fusion cores will go supernova. But how do we trigger it?"

Nell grinned, a dangerous glint in his eye. "There's always a way, old man. There's always a way."

They hadn't found a definitive answer, but a seed of possibility had been sown. The Titans might be walking fortresses, but their design held a critical flaw, a vulnerability that could be exploited. It wouldn't be easy, and the risks were substantial, but it was a plan, a glimmer of hope in the face of overwhelming odds.

Nell and Tobias had become an unlikely team, united by a common goal – to find a chink in the armor of the approaching storm. The fate of The Green House, it seemed, rested on their combined ingenuity and their ability to turn a junkyard of discarded technology into a weapon against an unstoppable force.