Light burst from Ash's body in a violent wave...
not warm, not soft,
but sharp and electric, like a silent scream.
The construct froze mid-lunge.
Metal limbs twitched, stuttering as the wave slammed into its chest.
Lines of white static crawled over its armor like cracks in glass.
Palo shielded his eyes.
Silva stumbled backward, her breath caught in her throat.
The Founder whispered:
"Impossible…
Fragments shouldn't be able to project force."
Ash didn't hear him.
He was locked in a moment of blinding clarity, the spark pulsing inside him in sync with his heartbeat.
But it wasn't angry.
It was protecting.
Ash felt it.
A silent presence bracing itself against the threat.
The construct staggered but steadied itself, metal joints clicking back into place.
Smoke curled from its chest plate.
"Unauthorized defense protocol," it said in a broken monotone.
"Host anomaly detected."
Ash stepped forward instinctively.
"Stay away from them."
The spark responded.
Light crawled down Ash's arm, crackling like electricity under his skin.
Silva managed to speak.
"Ash, he's amplifying your neural output!"
Palo choked.
"In English, Silva!"
"It means," she said, eyes wide, "Zero-B's fragment is using Ash's nervous system as a conduit."
Palo stared at Ash.
"He's… fighting for you."
Ash didn't look away from the construct.
The spark pulsed again,
not chaotic,
but controlled.
The construct's eye-slot flickered.
"Fragment. Detected.
Priority: retrieval."
Its arm reshaped into no longer a blade, but a hollow device humming with energy.
Silva recognized it instantly.
"Oh no Ash, that's an extraction module. If it connects to you, I'm not letting it," Ash said quietly.
And the spark agreed.
The construct fired.
A beam of pale light shot straight toward Ash's chest , but, the spark inside him burst free in a shield-like flash, bending the beam sideways. It hit the wall, carving a glowing scar into the metal.
Palo yelled:
"Okay, THAT is not normal!"
The construct recalibrated instantly.
"Host resistance is unauthorized.
Secondary force engaged."
It lunged again,
faster this time.
Ash raised his arm, not sure what he was doing, only trusting the spark inside.
Light surged...
And something happened.
Not a blast.
Not an explosion.
But a push.
An invisible force shoved outward from Ash's chest, slamming into the construct like a shockwave.
Metal screamed as the machine flew backward, crashing into the far wall so hard that sparks rained like falling stars.
Ash gasped, knees buckling.
Silva rushed to him.
"Ash, Ash, are you okay?!"
He nodded weakly.
"I'm fine… just dizzy."
The spark dimmed slightly, like it had drained itself to protect him.
Palo stared at the smoking construct.
"Did we… win?"
The Founder didn't answer.
Because the construct broken, sparking, dented had
began to rise.
Slowly.
Mechanically.
As if unwilling to acknowledge defeat.
Its voice glitched.
"Host anomaly…
must be…
secured."
Ash's hands shook.
Silva grabbed his wrist.
"Ash. The spark inside you, he overextended. You can't do that again so soon."
Palo swallowed hard.
"So what do we do?! Run?"
The Founder finally spoke.
"No.
We stall it."
He stepped forward.
Silva hissed:
"You can't face that thing".
But he raised a hand.
"I know its design better than anyone.
If I can disable its sensory core, it will shut down long enough for us to escape."
The construct staggered toward them.
"Return… fragment…"
Ash grabbed the Founder's arm.
"Be careful."
For the first time, the Founder's expression softened.
"I didn't build these things to survive a world like this, Ash.
But you,
you and that fragment..,
you're rewriting every rule we had."
He stepped into the hallway, facing the damaged machine.
Silva pulled Ash and Palo toward the emergency door.
"Ash, come on now!"
The spark inside him glowed faintly,
weak, but still watching.
Still aware.
Ash whispered under his breath:
"Hold on…
I'm still here."
The construct lunged at the Founder
and the hallway exploded into chaos.