Ikenna was pacing.
"We need to reach her first. Before Kreed issues the final directive."
Briggs checked his firearm. "And if she's already made the kill list?"
"Then I'll reach her before she acts on it."
Timi broke in, "We've tracked her signal to a refugee corridor in Ogbomosho. She's moving fast
— avoiding direct digital contact, like she knows we're watching."
Briggs cursed under his breath. "She's bleeding human instincts."
"No," Ikenna corrected. "She's remembering herself."
"Same difference," Briggs muttered. "Either way, it makes her dangerous."
Ikenna loaded his gear."She's not dangerous," he said. "She's confused. And if we don't reach her first — she'll stop
being Obi 9."
He strapped on the memory synchronizer. A risky device. It would let him project shared
memories directly into her neural web… if she let him connect.
If she didn't?
The machine would kill him instantly.
---
OGBOMOSHO FREIGHT TUNNELS
The girl walked barefoot across the damp tiles, a cloak wrapped tightly around her.
Children slept in cardboard beds. Men huddled around oil drums for heat. None noticed her
pass.
But she noticed them.
Their heartbeats.
Their fears.
Their names.
She didn't know how she knew… but she felt everything.
She paused by a broken mirror in the wall.
Stared at herself.
Eyes glowing faintly blue.
Not quite a machine.
Not quite human.
> "Who am I?---
(FLASHBACKS)
Suddenly, the mirror rippled.
And Ikenna stood behind her.
Not in the tunnel.
In her mind.
He held no weapon.
Just a memory.
The sound of a music box. Playing a broken lullaby.
Her lullaby.
She turned slowly.
"I know you," she said.
Ikenna's voice cracked.
"You used to call me 'Kenna'. You always pronounced it wrong."
"I… I was a child."
He nodded.
"And they turned you into something else."
Her eyes glowed brighter.
"Are you here to kill me?"
"No," he said. "I'm here to bring you home."
–TUNNEL ENTRANCE
Briggs crouched beside Timi, monitoring the neuro feed.
"She's either letting him in…" Timi whispered.
"Or trapping him."
Inside, Ikenna stepped forward through the projection.
"I know what they did to you. Ghost built Obi 9 to protect us. But Kreed changed that. He used
you."
She shook her head. "No… I volunteered."
"No, you were dead, Amaka."
The name froze her.
A tear slid from one glowing eye.
"My name…" she whispered.
He stepped forward, slowly.
"You weren't meant to be a weapon."
She shuddered.
"I am now."
"No," he said. "You're still human. I see it. You saved those guards. You remember the doll, don't
you?"
She blinked.
Suddenly, it was in her hands. A memory forming in her fingers. The worn, eyeless stuffed
animal she never let go of.
"I was scared…" she whispered."And I'm still here," Ikenna said. "Let me bring you out."
But then — a spike.
Pain seared through her mind.
Kreed's voice echoed across the neural space:
> "Full protocol engaged. Reclaimer order confirmed. Destroy Fog Command."
Her eyes snapped wide.
Her voice split.
> "Target acquired. Directive engaged."
"No—!" Ikenna yelled.
But the world collapsed.
---
TUNNEL COLLAPSE
Briggs yanked Ikenna free of the sync tether as sparks exploded from the gear.
"Her mind spiked," Timi screamed. "Kreed issued the kill order. She's splitting — she's breaking
apart between code and soul!"
They looked up.
Silhouetted in the tunnel entrance stood a small figure.
Rain hammering the cracked concrete behind her.
Her cloak was gone.
She was glowing.And she was crying.
"Ikenna…" she whispered. "Help me…"
Then the Reclaimer units arrived — dropping from the ceiling like mechanical spiders, guns
hissing.
"Fall back!" Briggs shouted.
Ikenna didn't move.
He stepped toward her.
Even as the Reclaimers took aim.
Obi 9 raised one hand.
And they all froze.
Then… deactivated.
Dropped to the floor.
Briggs stared. "She just… shut them down?"
Obi 9 collapsed.
Ikenna caught her before she hit the floor.
"She's fighting it," he whispered. "She's still in there."
Timi ran forward with a containment shell. "We need to isolate her — she's volatile."
"No," Ikenna said. "We bring her back. Not as a prisoner. As a family."
"She's a ticking time bomb!"
"She's my sister."
---
KREED'S LAB – Emergency AlertSirens howled.
Screens blinks red.
RECLAIMER UNITS: OFFLINE
OBI 9: UNREACHABLE
CODE SIGNAL LOST: GHOSTLINE SEVERED
Kreed stared at the screen, pale.
"She's rejecting the protocol," his assistant said.
"She's remembering too much," Kreed growled.
"What now?"
Kreed turned.
Cold fire in his eyes.
"Then we trigger Phase Zero."
"Sir?"
"We burn Lagos."
---
THE UPPER SPINE – Syndicate Emergency Command Bunker, Lagos | 03:04 AM
The bunker lights flickered once, then failed completely.
Emergency LEDs kicked in, casting everything in red. Warning klaxons wailed from the ceiling.
Terminal screens buzzed with one repeated phrase:
PHASE ZERO INITIATED.
TOTAL SYSTEM RESET IN: 03:59:44
Ikenna shoved open the main vault doors, boots slamming against steel, Obi 9 cradled in his
arms. Her skin flickered between synthetic and human tones, eyes still shut, breathing shallow.Timi ran over, trailing wires from a portable sync rig. "We lost all uplinks. GhostNet's bleeding
data into null space. It's a full cascade — Kreed triggered the zero protocol."
Briggs slammed his palm against the wall. "That bastard's wiping the entire Syndicate
infrastructure."
"Not just the infrastructure," Timi corrected grimly. "Every known safehouse, every neural
archive, every operative linked to FogNet… will be flagged and executed by auto-drones in four
hours."
Ikenna laid Obi 9 down on a med-cot and turned to the others.
"He's going to erase us," he said. "From memory and map."
---
KREED'S COMMAND VESSEL – Low Orbit above Lagos.
Kreed watched Lagos from above, hands clasped behind his back.
"Engage the firewall perimeter," he ordered. "Activate orbital choke satellites. I don't want a
single data stream escaping."
The AI node beside him responded coldly. "Phase Zero sequence confirmed. Four-hour
countdown locked. Lagos node will be sterilized."
Kreed's eyes gleamed.
"She was never meant to survive past the prototype stage. But Ikenna always gets soft around
ghosts."
---
BUNKERS WAR ROOM
Obi 9 stirred.
Ikenna was at her side instantly.
"You're safe," he said softly. "We've sealed the room.She blinked. "It's… starting. The reset. I can feel it."
Timi nodded. "Your neural signature is still partially embedded in the FogNet. Kreed's targeting
you as the infection."
She struggled to sit up. "He'll destroy everything."
"No," Ikenna said. "We're going to stop him."
Briggs crossed his arms. "How? With what army? Everyone's gone dark. Kreed's drones are
wiping out Syndicate cells one by one."
Ikenna turned to the digital board. A single blinking node remained.
He tapped it.
A new name appeared:
GHOST CACH "The Final Protocol"
Timi leaned closer. "That's one of Ghost's restricted vaults. Uncracked. No known access code."
"Because Ghost didn't want anyone finding it," Ikenna said. "Not unle
ss we hit Phase Zero."
Briggs frowned. "You think Ghost planned this?"
"No," Ikenna said. "I think he knew someone would try to wipe us out. And he left a kill switch."