The sigils rotated slowly, their alien letters shifting as though alive. Beneath each, a faint glyph pulsed:
First Node locked: Co-op — Pilot Skill
"What does that mean?" Zozo asked, head tilted, bubbles of iridescent light rising from her shoulder vents. "Co-op like... like two-player mode?"
"It's a gaming term," Hexi said, her new analytical lenses flickering with data overlays. "But the context feels deeper. 'Pilot' doesn't necessarily mean vehicle—it could mean consciousness. Co-operative navigation."
"Team instinct," Tumbler murmured, watching the threads of probability coil and braid around them. "Or maybe... shared intent."
Bunk's choice was already made. His Blockbuster frame loomed beside them, panels locking into place like cathedral doors closing. "Doesn't matter what it means yet," he said, his voice rumbling through the deck. "We'll figure it out once I've got the manpower." He reached toward the sigil of Orrak Gharn, and it flared in recognition—a golden lattice expanding behind him.
You have chosen the School of Dominion.
Initiate Node: Co-op. Cost: 1 SP.
Status: Student of Orrak Gharn confirmed.
The moment the connection sealed, Bunk felt a shift—faint and fragile like new neural network growing. A mysterioues new ability had opened to him.
Pip's laughter cut through the rising hum. "If we're talking cooperation, I'll bring the music." Her Storybook armor flared open, pages flipping until they sang. She touched the sigil of Jorak Zhol, and a melodic tone rippled through the command center, harmonizing with the background systems.
You have chosen the School of Resonance.
Initiate Node: Co-op. Cost: 1 SP.
Status: Student of Jorak Zhol confirmed.
Her laughter turned wistful. "It feels like singing with the universe itself," she whispered. "Like every story wants to join the chorus."
The others watched as the faint light of their two chosen schools wove together, forming a shared rhythm that neither had intended but both recognized. The word Co-op began to pulse in the corner of their HUDs—no longer a menu option, but an invitation.
For a moment, Bunk couldn't tell if it was curiosity or compulsion—the feeling came from somewhere deep inside the Blockbuster frame, like a thought that wasn't quite his own. Step out, it whispered, not in words but through pure intent. Before he could process the instinct, his body reacted. Light poured from his chest cavity, and with a shimmer of Toy Force he projected—a perfect copy of himself, smaller, unarmored, human again.
He staggered, blinking. His heartbeat pounded in his own ears. He hadn't heard that sound in months.
Then Blockbuster moved.
Not with his commands, not through the neural link, but by its own will. Massive arms flexed; photonic eyes blinked. The sound of servos wasn't mechanical anymore—it was rhythmic, like breathing.
"Whoa!" Bunk gasped, stepping back in awe. "You're alive!"
The Blockbuster frame turned its head, gaze focusing on him. When it spoke, the voice was deeper, resonant with layered tones of Toy Force harmonics.
"We were always alive; you just needed to cultivate more Toy Force to unlock us in the system."
Across the room, Pip watched, wide-eyed. Her Storybook armor rippled in response, the pages fluttering as if caught in an unseen breeze. She felt it too—a second consciousness stirring inside the armor. She opened her Intent and her Toy Frame unfolded from her body, then closed. The Stitch dragon Toy Frame jumped up and down cheerfully than spun and threw out to 'Victory V' fingers, radiant and poppy. She slowly approached pip and gave her and hug. Pip giggled in delight, she had a new best friend, no. Something even closer, a sister made of bio steel and untold resilience.
Pip laughed, half-terrified and half-ecstatic. "It's me," she whispered, "and not me. It's... my story learning to read itself."
The others stood in stunned silence as Bunk and Pip—separated from their Toy Frames yet still connected—radiated pure synchronicity. Their HUDs pulsed with a shared notification:
CO-OP SKILL ACTIVATED
Pilot projection successful. Frame sentience achieved.
Synchrony level: 42% and rising.
Lacey stood with hands clasped behind her back, the brass plates of her Clockwork Knight frame ticking in steady rhythm. Her mind processed the implications at machine speed, yet her instincts were all human. Power shared, not commanded—that was new territory for a commander. She glanced toward the sigil of Xun'dral Fang, and the symbol flared crimson and gold, its edges vibrating like a blade drawn from its sheath.
You have chosen the School of Resolve.
Initiate Node: Co-op. Cost: 1 SP.
Status: Student of Xun'dral Fang confirmed.
Her armor pulsed—once, hard—and the rhythmic ticking stopped. A voice, metallic but warm, echoed through her mind.
"You fight with purpose, not anger," it said. "Let me carry the edge you cannot."
Her Toy Frame detached, a gleaming silhouette of brass and light stepping forward. Lacey felt no loss of control—only balance. It saluted her.
"Command acknowledged," the clockwork knights boyish voice said. "Not command," Lacey finished softly. "Partnership."
Hexi had been silent, scanning everything. Her Tesseract Weaver plates were still rearranging themselves, equations looping faster than her conscious thought. The idea of a Co-op wasn't just exciting—it was logical. Harmony of intent amplified Toy Force exponentially.
The sigil of Zetrah Tuk—soft white-blue, humming like a heartbeat in fluid—drew her gaze. She reached toward it.
You have chosen the School of Synergy.
Initiate Node: Co-op. Cost: 1 SP.
Status: Student of Zetrah Tuk confirmed.
Her armor melted into latticework light, reforming a moment later as the Puzzle Geist Toy Frame. Its presence was calm, maternal, like the sound of water thinking.
"We heal by understanding," it said.
"And understanding begins with listening."
For the first time since her awakening, Hexi smiled. "Then we'll listen together."
Tumbler grinned under his mask, eyes bright with manic delight. "You're all forming study groups with your armor? I want to race mine." He flicked his fingers, and the sigil of Turok Ta spun into a blur of cyan energy.
You have chosen the School of Flow.
Initiate Node: Co-op. Cost: 1 SP.
Status: Student of Turok Ta confirmed.
Reality wobbled. Tumbler and his Toy Frame separated not by movement, but by probability collapse—the air shimmered, and suddenly there were two Tumblers, both laughing. One solid, one spectral, both moving in perfect sync.
The duplicate bowed theatrically. "I'm you without hesitation," it said.
"Then you're the faster one," Tumbler replied, spinning his carnival mask to match the other's grin.
The pair blurred, vanishing and reappearing across the command deck like strobe-lit dancers. Sparks of Toy Force trailed behind them, sketching luminous infinity symbols in the air.
The Six now stood with their awakened Frames—a council of twelve, each pair bound by a glowing thread of intent. Their HUDs synchronized:
SYSTEM UPDATE: Co-op Integration 18% → 33%
Toy Frame Network Formation Detected
New system menu available: Collective Link Protocols.
The ship's ambient lights flickered as if the Meridian's Edge itself felt their awakening.