---
Opening slowly, the moment felt like forever. Everyone could feel the tension tightening around their lungs like invisible chains. No one—scientist, world leader, or even one of the Originals—could truly predict what was about to come out of the hatch. But one truth pressed down harder than the silence in the lab: it didn't matter what stepped out. The only question that mattered was this—
Ally or enemy?
The hatch hissed open, exhaling cold mist that rolled over the lab floor like breath from a sleeping giant. The group instinctively stepped back, weapons half-drawn, breath caught in their throats. All eyes fixed on the dark oval opening as it yawned wider.
A boot thudded against the metal rung—then another.
She rose from the shadows slowly, like a ghost given form.
First her hand—dark-skinned, gloved, clutching the hatch edge with effortless strength. Then her head emerged: jet-black braids glinting with tiny gold cuffs, coiled high like a crown. Her eyes caught the red warning lights—cool, sharp, unreadable. A thin scar beneath one eye gave her gaze more weight than any weapon ever could.
She climbed out fully, standing tall, calm, completely unbothered by the tension that practically hummed through the air like electricity. She wore a cropped tactical jacket over a skintight armored vest, fitted cargo pants slung low on her hips, and boots heavy enough to break bone. A short blade hung at her hip.
She scanned the room, lingering on each of them for a breathless second, then smirked at Ace.
"Well damn," she said, voice smooth, confident, and dangerous. "Y'all made one hell of an entrance."
She cracked her neck, took in the ruined lab, the sparks, the hiss of a dying mech still twitching in the corner.
"Guess I'm not the only one hunting ghosts."
In the next breath, Ace dashed forward.
"ACE, NO—!" Xavier tried to stop him, already reaching, already knowing.
But it was too late.
Ace moved with deadly instinct, twin blades unsheathed in a single blur—white and black, slicing through the air. The stranger's eyes widened as the strike came, too fast to evade. She gritted her teeth and pulled a small knife free, preparing to meet steel with steel. But the energy—the momentum—passed her completely.
The sound of metal splitting metal rang out. Behind her, the half-functional mech—its internal systems moments away from sending fatal data feedback—was sliced in a single, perfect X across the head. The cut was clean, surgical. The white blade reflected the black; the black absorbed the reflection. Together they severed the enemy's brain from its core.
The mech collapsed with a sputter and a screech.
Ace exhaled slowly, turning, blades still glowing from the impact. Everyone else stared—jaws slack.
"Did I miss something?" he asked, as if he hadn't just executed a save that prevented them all from getting remotely dissected.
"You just find every way to impress," Phiona said with a half-laugh. "Don't you, pretty face?"
The stranger turned, lips twitching in amusement. "Well, that's a cool way to introduce yourself."
Ace didn't smile. His stance tightened again, blades still drawn.
"You know I only protected you because you're a potential ally," he said, eyes sharp. "And a potential threat. It's 50-50. That's the only reason we're still talking."
She raised an eyebrow, not even fazed.
"Well, I'm not your ally yet," she said coolly. "But I'm definitely not your enemy."
"And how are we supposed to believe that?" Wei asked, stepping forward, suspicious as always. Her eyes narrowed, scanning every detail of the woman.
The woman held up her hands playfully. "Guess there's only one way to prove it."
She tapped a few commands into her wristwatch. A moment later, a hum filled the air—then the sound of something rising from the hatch.
A helmet-like mask, nearly identical to theirs, floated upward and hovered beside her, spinning slowly. It locked into place beside her head before descending gently into her outstretched palm.
The room froze.
It wasn't just the mask—it was what the mask meant.
She had one.
She had a mask.
They had spent months trying to track down the escaped—and not once did she show up. Not once did she ping the radar. And yet she stood here with a mask she clearly understood… more than she should have.
An escaped.
A ghost with knowledge of what she was.
A chill ran down everyone's spine.
"The name's Nyah," she said casually. "Nyah Briggs. Nice to meet you all."
She extended a hand to no one in particular.
Sam stepped forward first and took it. "Sam. Welcome aboard."
Xavier hesitated, then followed suit. "I guess for now… there's no harm going along with this."
Phiona grinned and shook her hand. "You're interesting. That's enough for me."
Wei said nothing, but gave a tight nod and shook as well.
"Also," Wei said as she pulled her hand back, "you'll let me inspect your mask."
"Yeah, sure. Why not?" Nyah shrugged.
Ace stared at her for a long moment before finally easing his blades back into their coffin and sealed them back. He stepped forward, offered a quick handshake—firm, but not too friendly.
"Just know," he said quietly, "I'll kill you if you switch sides."
Nyah only smiled. "You'll have to catch me first."
"Now let's get down to business," Xavier said, taking command again. "First—what are you doing here?"
"Looking," Nyah said. "For information. On the Eidolons. On the Originals. And most of all—on us."
Her eyes drifted toward Wei, who was already studying her mask with obsessed precision.
"And what about you?" Nyah asked. "Why are you here?"
"We're here for the same reason," Xavier said. "We need to find a way to fight the Originals and the Eidolons—if they decide to come for us."
"Well, why?" Nyah pushed. "Why are you fighting them at all?"
Xavier opened his mouth, then paused.
"Because we don't know what they want," he said finally.
Nyah nodded slowly. "That's why I'm here. Because I need to know who I'm meant to fight… and what it even is. And because…"
She looked up, and for the first time, the smile vanished.
"…I'm sure you've all felt it. That ache in your head. The static in your chest. The way the mask sometimes feels heavier. One day, these masks won't be enough. They won't be able to contain us anymore."
No one said a word.
"We'll snap," Nyah said. "We'll lose control. And we might end up killing the people we love."
The words sliced deeper than anyone expected.
Ace's breath caught.
The people we love.
A thought cracked through him like a whip of lightning. Someone. Someone he hadn't seen in weeks. Someone who made him feel… full.
Even if it was just the soft brush of fingers when he handed her a coffee. Even if it was only the way her golden skin gleamed in the morning light as she walked into the café. That quiet warmth. That unspoken comfort.
That was what had been missing all this time.
---
Back in New York City...
The café buzzed softly in the background. But her world was quiet.
Pisce sat near the counter, fingers curled around a warm paper cup. Her golden hair fell in soft waves over her shoulders, but the light in her eyes had dimmed.
It had been over a month.
A full month since Ace was reported missing.
Not a call. Not a text. Not even a body.
At first, people said maybe he ran away. Maybe he quit. Maybe he had enough.
But Pisce knew better.
She still came every morning. Sat in the same seat. Ordered the same drink he used to slide across the counter with a wink and a dumb joke.
She hadn't smiled—not really—since the day he vanished.
'I still want to believe he'll come back,' she thought. 'That one morning I'll walk in and he'll be behind the counter like nothing ever happened. The guy I always see in the morning when I come for my coffee.'
Her throat tightened.
'Please, Ace… don't die.'
She looked out the window as the sun caught in her lashes.
And somewhere across the world—or maybe not in this world at all—Ace stood in silence, gripping the coffin of twin blades. A black one that absorbed all light. A white one that reflected all truth.
He didn't know what it was that kept him going.
But he felt it now.
A warmth buried under the layers of blood and betrayal and chaos.
Something small.
Something soft.
A reason.