ZERO ONE: ONE HOPE!

"By the way, Bolt," Hariel said suddenly, pointing outside the tavern with his now-clean curry spoon. "That super weird, scrap-heap vehicle parked outside... that's yours, right? Does it run?"

A strange look of pride immediately appeared on Bolt's face. "It does more than just run, Captain! Come on, let us show you!"

Finished with the tavern repairs, Hariel followed his new crew outside. On the side of the road was parked an 'object' that made him stop in his tracks and blink.

The word 'vehicle' was perhaps too generous.

The object looked more like a pile of junk held together by sheer willpower and maybe... a little bit of magic.

His eyes traced its base, made from a large wooden cart, then up to an old, rusty steam engine that was coughing softly, emitting a faint smell of oil and coal. He chuckled when he saw its mismatched wheels—one made of solid wood, the other of dented metal.

But what truly made him grin wide was the ornament on the front: a creepy wooden doll's head with one eye missing, staring blankly down the road as if challenging anyone who dared to block its path.

"So... this... is your super-advanced 'transportation'?" Hariel asked, trying to hold back a laugh.

Bolt, however, patted the side of the vehicle, which immediately creaked in protest. "Of course! Allow me to introduce you, Captain Hariel! This is the finest masterpiece from our now-closed workshop!"

He spread his arms proudly. "We call her... 'The Rusty Bucket'!"

"'The Rusty Bucket'?" Hariel chuckled. "A... very fitting name."

"We built it ourselves from various secondhand parts and choice junk we found at Junkyard Junction," Grease explained, wiping oil from her hands. "This steam engine is from an old factory in Gizmograd that was no longer in use because it exploded too often."

"Gizmograd?" Hariel's eyes immediately lit up with interest upon hearing the legendary city's name mentioned again.

The city of technology. There must be lots of clues about Sky Arks there! Or even rare components to build one! Who knows if Grandpa ever went there?

"Hey, Bolt!" Hariel said suddenly, an idea forming. "Do you think... this mighty 'Rusty Bucket' could take us all the way to Gizmograd?"

Bolt and the other crew members exchanged worried glances.

"To Gizmograd, Captain?" Bolt repeated, hesitant. "Maybe... it could, if Lady Luck is feeling generous. But the journey is quite long, and... well... 'The Rusty Bucket' here, honestly, isn't very... reliable. It sometimes gets moody and breaks down whenever it feels like it."

"Not a problem at all! That's the challenge!" Hariel exclaimed with his signature enthusiasm. "Besides, I now have the world's greatest team of carpenters and mechanics by my side! If there's a little damage, or a wheel falls off, you guys can fix it quick and easy, right?"

Hariel's blind yet sincere confidence was contagious, reigniting their pride as craftsmen.

"Alright, Captain," Bolt finally said, a genuine smile on his lips. "If you're brave enough to ride this proud wreck of ours, we will do our best to get you to Gizmograd."

"THAT'S THE SPIRIT! Let's go right now before my stomach gets hungry again!"

Hariel leaped onto the open-air bed of the truck, followed by his new crew. Bolt sat in the driver's seat, pulling several rusty levers and turning a large crank with all his might.

The old steam engine coughed violently, spewing a thick plume of black smoke, before finally, with several great shudders, 'The Rusty Bucket' began to move forward.

"Be careful on the road, Kid Hariel!" shouted the tavern owner from her doorway, waving.

"Thanks for everything, Ma'am! The food here is number one!" Hariel shouted back, waving enthusiastically.

"The Rusty Bucket" chugged along, lurching and shaking violently with every bump.

"Whoa... this vehicle... really... has a... WONDERFULLY UNIQUE character!" Hariel yelled, holding on tight.

"You mean wonderfully rickety, Captain?" grumbled Bolt from the driver's seat.

"That's what's so cool about it, Bolt!" Hariel replied, his eyes sparkling. "Just imagine if we modify it a little! Slap some booster rockets on the back, maybe a pair of giant mechanical wings, or even cooler, a devastating plasma cannon on the front... 'The Rusty Bucket' could become a legend in the seven skies!"

His five new crew members could only listen with a mixture of resignation and amusement.

"Speaking of great adventures," Hariel said, changing the subject, "Have any of you heard of Zero Chasers?"

"Zero Chasers?" Pipe asked, frowning. "Is that some kind of... new, super-spicy dessert, Captain?"

Hariel roared with laughter. "No, Pipe! Not food!"

"Zero Chasers are... well, they're the true adventurers!" he explained, his eyes glinting with admiration. "The most reckless treasure hunters, the bravest sky explorers!"

"They travel the world, challenge danger, and risk their lives to find powerful ancient artifacts," he continued, his tone becoming more serious.

"What kind of artifacts, Captain?" Wrench asked, her curiosity piqued.

"They're called Disk Relics," Hariel answered. "They say they're pieces of technology from an ancient civilization that hold immense power!"

"Sounds... dangerous, but also very interesting," Griselda commented.

"Of course! And to become a true Zero Chaser, we need one thing that's the most important and the coolest of all!"

"What's that, Boss Hariel?" asked Hammer, the youngest, his mouth slightly agape in awe.

"A Sky Ark!" Hariel answered, stretching his arms wide as if to embrace the heavens. "A flying ship! A giant ark that can take us anywhere, across stormy seas, through thick clouds, maybe even to the ends of the earth!"

"You talk like a kid who just heard a bedtime story," Bolt chuckled from the driver's seat. "Flying ships? Those only exist in legends."

"I'm serious, Bolt! A thousand percent serious!" Hariel shot back, unwavering. "I'm absolutely certain that Sky Arks are real! My Grandpa told me about them! And I'm going to find one, or if not, we'll build one ourselves from scratch! You guys are experts with wood and machines, after all!"

Their bumpy journey continued, accompanied by Hariel's enthusiastic chatter.

The sun began to dip towards the west, painting the sky in gradients of golden orange. After a few hours, the scenery ahead began to change drastically. The green hills gave way to a barren plain, and in the distance... strange, giant structures began to loom towards the sky.

"There it is... we've arrived," Lumi's voice murmured from within the pendant, sounding clear amidst the engine's roar.

Hariel, who had been busy explaining his theory on Sky Ark engines to Hammer, immediately looked up.

His eyes widened in disbelief.

In the distance, spread out before them like a futuristic dream, was a giant city.

Skyscrapers of metal and glass soared so high they seemed to want to pierce the night sky. Thick, colorful smoke billowed from hundreds of giant smokestacks. As night began to fall, millions of lights started to turn on, creating a man-made sea of stars. The rhythmic sound of clanging metal and hissing steam carried faintly on the wind, creating a strange symphony typical of an industrial city.

"Gizmograd..." Hariel whispered, his breath catching in awe.

Deep inside one of the tallest buildings in Gizmograd, in a state-of-the-art workshop, a young man with platinum-silver hair was struggling with a complex machine.

The room was cluttered with piles of electronic components, fiber-optic cables, and holographic screens displaying complex formulas.

The young man wore high-tech goggles on his forehead, revealing a pair of sharp, cold, ice-blue eyes. His gloved hands moved with high precision, adjusting parts of the machine with a special sonic wrench. His handsome face looked extremely tired, with faint dark circles under his eyes.

"Just a little more... this prototype will be perfect..." he muttered, his voice hoarse from lack of sleep.

Suddenly, a loud alarm blared. Red emergency lights flashed wildly and the machine before him emitted a thick plume of purple smoke.

"DAMN IT!" the young man swore, his emotions erupting. He slammed his fist against the machine's panel in frustration. "FAILED AGAIN! WHY DOES IT ALWAYS FAIL AT THE VERY END?!"

He took a ragged breath and walked towards his workshop's panoramic window.

From this height, his gaze accidentally caught an anomaly—a strange moving object on the main road leading to the city gate. His ice-blue eyes narrowed.

An impossible construction, he thought to himself, his eyes scanning the scrap-heap vehicle. The chassis is too heavy for that low-pressure old steam engine. Its thermodynamic calculations... are completely wrong.

That thing shouldn't even be able to move a single centimeter.

But down below, that impossible wreck... was lurching its way towards the gate.

For the first time in hours, a thin, genuine smile touched his lips. Not an arrogant smile, but the smile of a puzzle-solver who had just found an interesting anomaly.

"Who are the madmen who managed to make that impossibility run?"

He sighed, forcefully pulling his gaze away from the walking puzzle.

"I don't have time for other people's toys," he said coldly to himself, turning back to his broken prototype. "My own toy is waiting to be fixed."