The alert still pulsed in the back of Alex's skull in the command center.
The atmosphere was getting tense. There were more movements. Operatives were making calls. The room's blue glow had a tinge of red.
Genesis flickered in alert, the way it glowed looked like it was loading.
Alex noticed Taro, Lena and Kade were leaving the room.
" Hey wait up!" Alex yelled and ran after them, Genesis followed but they lost sight of them.
Moments later, a few people were in the humming pre-deployment bay beneath the Monridge VR-Society base.
"Old Line 7?" Lena's voice cut sharply through the brief silence and heated activity. collecting weapons and putting in her back which turned to static.
A man who dressed like a virtual solider grunted. "Sub-levels. Abandoned subway tunnels. Used to be a testbed for early VR mapping,"
Mira's fingers flew across her wrist watch. "That entire district was flagged as contaminated breach. We were told some tech was buried there."
"So why breach it now?" Taro asked, stepping into formation.
Lena answered without looking at him. "Because whatever's buried there still matters."
A glass tube lowered and spat Alex out along with Genesis.
He stumbled to get up while Genesis stayed in the air.
Cold sweat clung to his neck, his breathing shallow as Genesis pulsed dimly beside him.
" Nice transport. Definitely better than an elevator," Genesis said sarcastically.
Lena was a few feet away from him. The others didn't notice Alex came in because they were too busy preparing.
She shot him a glare " What are you doing here?"
" I wanna help," said Alex.
Lena looked behind and to him. As if frustrated.
" You are not ready!"
Alex blinked. exhaled.
Someone held Lena from behind. Kade.
" We need to go." Kade said and looked at Alex " Alex stay here."
Alex stared like he couldn't believe it.
" Teleportation sequence commences in 15 seconds," boomed the AI from the intercom.
Kade along with the others went to a smaller demarcation of the room where there was a platform to teleport.
Lena wanted to leave but Alex held her wrist.
" Kade told you to stay here."
" I'm still going, I have Genesis," Alex said in a serious tone.
Lena turned " Do not go. That's an order."
" You're becoming bossy," said Alex, frowning slightly.
" I was put in charge of you. Wouldn't want you to get hurt under my watch." Lena looked at him for a moment and ran to join them.
The teleport pulse hit them all at once—light shredding into lines—and then the chill stink of damp concrete replaced sterile air.
Alex stood there speechless.
" Well that was a big woop. Guess we should go," suggested Genesis.
" No."
Alex ran to the teleportation platform and fiddled with the buttons when Genesis floated to him.
" Kade said we should not leave HQ."
Alex ignored him.
" Why do you want to do this? You know the consequences."
Alex stopped and looked at the floating console.
" What could go wrong when I have you Genesis?"
" This is a Class-4 hollowborn, you struggled with Class-2."
Alex sighed " The earlier I prove myself, the earlier I get out of here."
" Good point."
The teleportation machine activated.
Alex raised his hand " come with me."
Genesis hesitated then groaned.
They both teleported.
Meanwhile…
The agents were scattered through the dark underbelly of Monridge, rusted rail lines crisscrossing faded white tiles. Holo-lights flickered above like haunted memories, casting spectral glows on the team.
Taro pressed his buttoned glove, launching a drone that buzzed upward, its sensors sweeping the corridor.
Lena held her gun tight, sweeping it toward every echo. Her breath was steady, practiced. She paused when a soft metallic clatter echoed behind a shattered pillar, eyes narrowing.
Kade walked along the rail lines, a massive axe slung over his shoulder, his steps deliberately slow. "Feels too quiet," he muttered.
The others were positioned further out, combing the perimeter. Heavy silence pressed down, thick with unease.
Lena lowered her weapon slightly as her flashlight revealed a pile of blue-printed maps, scattered tech junk, rusting drones. "Just leftover junk," she said into her earpod.
"Nothing here either," replied Taro.
A sharp clang reverberated through the tunnel. Then another—closer.
Kade's voice broke through, tense. "Guys, I think I found something."
Blue light danced in the shadows near him—broken code, crawling and alive.
Lena moved swiftly, her steps silent. Taro followed, pulse-weapon raised. Mira joined from the flank, eyes scanning. They met Kade at a cross-section where the air shimmered oddly, as if reality bent.
Then—
Grunts. Gunfire. A blur. Screams. A burst of static and light. Then, silence.
From the shadows stepped a figure. Tall. Robed. Blue light veined across its arms like lightning trapped in crystal. In one hand, it held an unconscious agent by the neck, blood trailing from the agent's temple.
"Morrow," Lena breathed.
"You know this guy?" Taro demanded.
"Used to be a corrupted trainer AI. Rumor said it survived deletion."
Kade's grip on his axe tightened. "You're done playing games. Give back the stolen tech. Now."
" What tech?" said Morrow with fake innocence.
" Don't play dumb with me!"
Morrow's grin was flickering code. "Too late. It's already begun."
"Hand it over," Lena said sharply. "You don't understand what you're messing with."
"On the contrary," Morrow said. "I understand perfectly."
Morrow held out a small metallic ball, pulsing with energy.
Suddenly the space around him rippled. Simulacra rose—flickering, humanoid ghosts of simulations past. Blank faces. Jagged edges. They rushed forward with terrifying speed.
The team launched into motion.
Kade cleaved through the first simulacrum, but blood streaked his side as another tore through his guard. Mira fired precision pulse-shocks, her shots brutal but barely holding the line. Taro gritted his teeth, his drone spinning wildly to fend off attackers. Lena moved like smoke, slicing and dodging, but even she couldn't avoid a swipe that left her bleeding.
Amid the chaos, Morrow stepped forward. Calm. Detached. His code shimmered—then he struck, from agent to agent, tackling them with precision and leaving them unconscious.
Kade saw this and tore through the simulacras to fight Morrow. He raised his axe about to strike but Morrow was quick. He held the sharp edge with his finger tips.
Kade was shocked much to Morrow's satisfaction.
Then.
A blast of compressed energy from Morrow hit Kade, sending him flying into a rusted beam with a sickening crunch. He didn't get up.
Lena saw this and wanted to jump in but she was overwhelmed by the multiplying entities.
Morrow laughed " You all disappoint me with your weakness. What about the console weilder?"
Taro was on the floor, pressing the buttons on his gloves and drones were sent flying to Morrow but knives configured in his hands and he threw it at the drones, exploding within Mira's range, making her fall down.
Morrow teleported to Taro, giving him a punch that made him tumble.
Taro stood again, wanting to kick him but his leg was held and was lifted, making his face hit a pillar.
Taro hit the floor with a sickening thud.
" This world has been flawed for too long."
Morrow raised a hand again.
The light surged.
And was intercepted.
A blur—brilliant neon, streaking through the dark.
Alex.
He stood between Morrow and Taro, a sleek black futuristic suit glowing with vibrant blue lines. Genesis, the sentient console within him, lit up his HUD. "Entrance: nailed it."
Lena gasped—relief breaking through her pain. "Took you long enough."
Alex smirked, his voice a calm counterpoint to the tension. " Let's do this."
He moved.
Electrified grace. He phased in and out, striking Morrow with surgical precision. Each blow dissolved code and bone alike. The team rallied, their movements syncing with his presence.
Morrow's eyes flared. He matched Alex, blow for blow. Their fight carved through the battlefield, too fast for the others to track. Alex deflected, struck, dodged—but Morrow adapted. Each round, more brutal. More precise.
Lena tried to assist—but a rusted beam above her groaned, snapping loose.
She looked up.
Alex did too.
Without hesitation, he lunged, shoving her aside.
The beam crashed down on him.
Pain flared. His systems screamed. Blood hit the ground.
"Alex!" Lena's voice cracked. She dropped beside him, fingers trembling.
[CRITICAL DAMAGE ]
[REGENERATE PROTOCOL » NOT SUPPORTED]
Within Alex, Genesis sparked, voice distorted. "Damage critical—Alex, stay with me—"
Then—
A flicker.
A memory not his own: a man—trapped, burning, shielding data cores with his body. His face distorted by smoke and static. Alex's Dad?
The pain shifted. Became something else.
Rage. Grief. Fire.
Circuits ignited beneath his skin. Neon bled from his veins. His eyes glowed with impossible data.
"Fusion initiated," Genesis whispered.
Alex stood.
More than human. More than machine.
He blurred forward, a storm of light and fury. Simulacra disintegrated around him. Morrow turned, too late.
Alex struck—a data-slice through Morrow's chest. The entity staggered, glitching.
"It has begun," Morrow gasped. "The Architect of Order… The Neural Throne reawakens."
He vanished in a burst of corrupted light along with the stolen tech.
Silence fell.
Genesis quipped inside Alex, flickering. "Still think 'Architect' sounds like a bad band name."
Lena approached, blood on her temple. She reached out, touching Alex's arm. Her eyes searched his.
"You okay?"
He nodded slowly. "You?"
She didn't answer. Just stared at him for a moment and left.
Alex and Genesis separated.
Mira coughed. "Is it over?"
Alex eyes scanned the aftermath. Agents lay injured from the fight with Morrow. Blood on the floor. The hum of a portal. Medics from the society rushed in.
Mira helped Taro sit up, his nose bleeding. Lena knelt by Kade, who was out cold, blood on his forehead.
No one looked at Alex.
At the far end, an old corridor stretched into darkness. A possible way out.
Kade's voice echoed in his memory: Don't leave HQ until you prove your worth.
But Kade was down. His mom was worried. No one was watching.
Genesis hovered near. "Thinking of vanishing?"
"I... maybe."
"Then you already are. Every ghost leaves a shadow."
Alex didn't reply. He looked once more at the wounded.
By the time Lena turned back, he was gone.
At night.
Alex slipped through the back door of his home, limping slightly. It was long past midnight.
His mother stood in the kitchen, eyes red, phone clutched tight in one hand, the other pressed to her chest.
She froze when she saw him. The phone clattered to the floor.
"Alex."
She rushed to him, her voice cracking as it broke through a breathless sob. "Two days. Two days, Alex. I thought—God, I thought you were—"
He staggered forward into her arms. "I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't mean to—things got out of control."
She gripped him tighter, her whole body trembling. "Don't you ever disappear on me like that again. Don't you ever."
"I know. I know. I'm sorry. I wanted to come back, I just... couldn't."
She pulled back enough to look him in the face, brushing his hair back, searching him for answers. "Where were you? What happened?"
He hesitated, glancing toward the dark window. "I... went to a silent retreat with no phones allowed. It was part of a mental health program I signed up for through school/work. Things felt heavy recently and I didn't think you'll understand."
She followed his gaze, her hand still holding his arm. " Oh Alex, whatever it is you are going through, you have to tell me. You almost gave me a heart attack."
Alex didn't answer, just held her hand tighter.
Later, in his room, Genesis hovered silently above his bed, pulsing faintly with light.
Alex lay beneath it, eyes open. "Genesis... why did I see my father? That vision—at the old subway—it felt real."
Genesis dimmed, voice softer than usual. "I don't know. It wasn't triggered by me. It's not part of my data cache."
Alex sat up slowly. "Then how?"
"It's like... something echoing across corrupted lines. A file trying to load with missing pieces."
"A memory?"
"A fading one. Yours. Or his. Maybe both. But it's tangled in something deeper."
Alex exhaled, eyes fixed on Genesis. "Fine—but—I feel... troubled, you know, leaving HQ."
Genesis floated towards him " Don't worry, Kade is down, you're safe. Just go back after school or during bed time. They wouldn't notice.
Alex turned to look at a picture frame of little him and his Dad on his cupboard " You may be right."
Some time later.
Far beyond Monridge's firewalls, in a dark digital chamber humming with malignant life, An entity floated before a web of flickering code.
At its center: Morrow's last neural imprint—glitching, looping, whispering Alex's name.
His voice crackled. " He's syncing faster than anticipated. Accelerate deployment. Monitor link. We've found our thread."
A little glow casted on his hand holding the ball-shaped stolen tech.