(Written by Rohit Malhotra
The wind howled like a warning.
The military transport rolled slowly down a cracked forest path, its tires crunching over the fallen branches and shattered asphalt. Mist drifted through the trees, curling around the vehicle like pale fingers. The world was changing—Ronin could feel it in his bones.
He sat in silence at the front, Ruby by his side, while Kael sat cross-legged in the back, eyes closed in quiet concentration.
None of them spoke for a long time.
Finally, Ruby broke the silence.
"How far are we?"
Ronin glanced at the blinking tracker. "Thirty kilometers from Sector 13."
Kael opened her eyes. "We shouldn't go in blind. If the control node is still active, it may recognize us as threats. Especially me."
Ronin turned. "Why especially you?"
Kael hesitated. "Because I was the last one they tried to reprogram. I resisted the longest."
Ruby frowned. "Reprogram? I thought you were shut down."
"I was," Kael said softly. "But not before they tried to overwrite me. I was meant to be the first to lead the hybrids… to turn on Earth."
Ronin's breath caught.
"But you didn't," Ruby said, voice soft.
"No. I destroyed the terminal. That's the last thing I remember before the sleep."
Ronin stared at her, then slowly nodded. "We'll watch your back."
Kael looked out at the misty road ahead. "Let's hope I don't become what they feared."
Sector 13 – Perimeter
The landscape had changed.
No longer forest or road, but ash and glass. The trees were gone—burned into blackened stumps. The earth was fused like melted metal. Their vehicle stopped near the ruins of a gate twisted like wire.
"Sector 13," Ronin whispered. "What happened here?"
They stepped out cautiously, weapons ready.
A faint hum drifted on the air—mechanical, pulsing. Somewhere below the earth, energy still flowed. Ruby checked her device.
"The node's still alive. It's… broadcasting something."
Kael squinted at the ruined facility. "If this place is active, we need to find the sublevels."
Ronin led the way through the scorched remains. Bits of glass crunched underfoot. Holographic signs flickered with half-life: "RESTRICTED – BIOFORM CONTROL ZONE".
A stairwell led underground. The door at its base had melted open, revealing a dark tunnel.
They moved inside, one by one.
Underground
The tunnel twisted like the guts of a forgotten machine. Pipes lined the walls, steam hissed from ruptured vents. Dim emergency lights cast red shadows.
"Ronin," Ruby said, her voice echoing, "did you hear that?"
Ronin stopped.
He had heard it too—a faint voice. Not human. Not alien. Something in between.
A low whisper. Repeating something in a strange language.
Kael touched the wall. Her fingers glowed faintly. "They're still here. Their memory. This place… remembers."
Suddenly, a section of wall pulsed and slid open, revealing a hidden chamber beyond.
Inside, a massive console glowed blue, surrounded by six empty cryo-pods.
One remained powered.
And inside it—
A boy. Young. Maybe sixteen. His body glowed with internal energy. Tattoos ran down his chest like circuits.
"R-07," Kael whispered.
Ronin stepped forward. "He's alive?"
Kael examined the readings. "Vitals are stable. He's still sleeping."
"But why hasn't he been woken?" Ruby asked.
Just then, the console beeped sharply. A warning.
INTRUSION DETECTED. CONTROL OVERRIDE ACTIVE.
The room trembled.
From above them, a deep voice echoed through the chamber.
"Protocol breach acknowledged. Initiating containment."
Kael's eyes widened. "It's the AI… the central mind of the facility. It's still online."
The cryo-pod's lights dimmed.
"No!" Ronin shouted.
Kael rushed to the console. "Help me override the system!"
Ronin joined her, fingers flying across the interface. Ruby aimed her weapon toward the entrance.
Suddenly, the ground shook violently.
From the far end of the hallway, a large humanoid figure emerged—bulky, armored in obsidian black, glowing with purple veins.
It wasn't alien.
It wasn't human.
It was a hybrid—like Ronin, but… broken.
Its face was half-metal, half-flesh, and its eyes pulsed red.
"What is that?" Ruby breathed.
Kael's face turned pale. "That's R-06."
Ronin stepped in front of her. "He's one of us?"
"He was," Kael said. "But he was reprogrammed. Fully."
The hybrid stepped forward, movements stiff but powerful.
"Unauthorized presence," it said in a robotic tone. "Terminate."
The Fight
Ronin activated the plasma-blade on his wrist. "Kael, protect R-07. I'll handle him."
Kael didn't argue. She rushed back to the pod, starting emergency reactivation.
Ruby fired at R-06, but the bullets bounced off his armor like pebbles.
He charged at Ronin, swinging a massive, bladed arm. Ronin ducked, slashed across R-06's leg, but it barely made a dent.
"He's reinforced!" Ronin shouted.
"I know," Kael replied. "He's the one they completed."
R-06 slammed Ronin against the wall. Ronin grunted in pain but retaliated with a pulse blast from his hand, sending the hybrid stumbling back.
"You… are incomplete," R-06 growled.
"I'm enough," Ronin snapped.
The two clashed—blades and fists, power surging around them. The chamber shook from their combat.
Meanwhile, Kael's fingers danced over the control panel.
"Come on, come on," she muttered.
The pod beeped—
REVIVAL INITIATED
The boy inside stirred.
R-07's eyes snapped open—pure white light glowing from within.
He sat up.
Kael turned. "Can you hear me?"
He looked at her, then at the battle, then at Ronin.
And without a word, he stood.
He raised one hand.
Energy exploded from his palm, blasting R-06 across the room.
Ronin turned, panting. "Who—"
The boy stepped forward. "I'm R-07. You're my brother. I remember you."
Kael smiled weakly. "You're back."
R-06 growled, struggling to rise.
Ronin nodded to R-07. "Together?"
The boy smiled. "Let's finish him."
They moved in sync.
Ronin attacked from the left, R-07 from the right. The battle was short, brutal, and final.
R-06 fell—his systems sparking, voice glitching.
"Ob...ject... failed... pro...gram..."
Then silence.
Aftermath
The facility lights stabilized.
Kael collapsed into a chair. "That was too close."
Ronin turned to R-07. "You okay?"
The boy nodded. "I think so. I remember you. The day we fell."
Ronin placed a hand on his shoulder. "We're getting back up."
Ruby watched them, eyes filled with hope and fear.
"How many more of you are there?" she asked.
Kael's face darkened. "We were seven. Three remain."
Ronin looked toward the corridor.
"Then we find them."
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