Merged

A groan echoed from someone on the floor. It was Tson. He was in poor condition, likely due to the aftermath of the explosion. Slowly, Tson regained consciousness. His eyelids fluttered, heavy and sluggish. A faint groan escaped him as he struggled to open his eyes, only able to make out the low hum of machinery and the dim flicker of lights above. His head throbbed painfully. As his vision cleared, he realized he was lying on the cold, metallic floor of his lab, with drool staining the floor beneath him. Rolling to his back, he tried to take a deep breath. The sharp scent of burnt circuits filled the air, and sparks sputtered from damaged equipment. Panic surged as his eyes darted to the vault—his arc reactors were gone.

His chest tightened, and his breath became shallow. But just as panic fully took hold, he spotted one of the arc reactors on the floor. "Oh," he thought, "they must have scattered after the explosion." He dismissed the thought of them being truly missing.

Then his mind shifted to his most precious possession, his future hopes and dreams: the Sentinel.

But in his current state, he had far more immediate concerns.

"Oh, sh*t, what happened?" His mind raced as he instinctively reached for the back of his neck, where an insurmountable amount of pain had settled. He winced at the sharp, stabbing sensation. His fingers brushed something new, something embedded in his skin. His mind immediately registered that this must be the Sentinel.

Before he could fully process the sensation, a voice echoed inside his head.

"Hello, Tson. I am Sentinel."

"Oh, yes, you are," Tson whispered, his heart pounding with excitement.

"The host initiated the merge. Merge successfully initiated," the voice said in a calming, distant tone.

Tson's thoughts spiraled as he struggled to process what had just happened. "It worked," he thought, shutting his eyes to battle the relentless pulse in his head. "But at what cost?" His head felt like it might split apart as he looked around at the devastation around him.

He peeked at the nearest screen, hoping to make sense of the damage in the room.

"Merci!" he called out to his trusted AI, but there was no response. The discharge from the arc reactors must have knocked out the AI's auditory systems, leaving it useless, unable to hear or respond to his thoughts. Frustration and exhaustion weighed heavily on him as he clumsily pushed himself off the floor and collapsed into the nearest chair.

Finally slumped in the chair, his head resting against the backrest, a soft "uhhh" escaped him, drawn out and exhausted. He then brought his gaze back down to the computer screen.

At eye level, a bold red message flashed across the screen:

Warning: Possible Intruder Detected.

Tson groaned. Investigating was the last thing he felt like doing right now. He placed his head down, trying to endure what felt like an intense migraine.

He almost felt like he was forgetting something important, but in his current state, he couldn't care less. Then, a loud bam sounded, followed by the sound of dragging feet, faint rhythmic scrapes echoing across the floor. It sounded as if someone was dragging their feet, their movements hesitant and tired, each step amplified by the silence of the room.

"Ugh," Tson groaned, turning his head sideways in the direction of the noise. The footsteps continued. In the hallway, a figure in what appeared to be a black suit came into view. Tson froze. "No one was supposed to be here," he muttered, closing his eyes and then reopening them. Was he hallucinating? To make sure, he blinked hard. When he opened his eyes again, the figure was gone. "Oh god," he thought. "This merging process must have turned my brain into mush."

Then, a metallic clang echoed from the opposite direction, accompanied by sudden cracks, crunches, and a muffled, low-frequency vibration, almost like a hum. Tson glanced back at the screen, where the red warning message remained bold and flashing. He half-heartedly thought about it, then noticed that the alert had been triggered forty-eight hours ago.

The alarm had gone off two days ago. Tson's mind raced. "How could this be? I've only been out for an hour or two," he thought, then it dawned on him. "How long have I been out? No way."

"Oh sh*t," he cursed, panic setting in. "Someone must have broken in. Being knocked out for that long, there's no way of knowing what's been going on."

Frantically, he continued typing, trying to pinpoint the source of the breach. It seemed the break-in had happened through the front window, right next to the entrance.

"Who would be foolish enough to break the front window? It's like they weren't even trying to be discreet. What could possibly make them do that?"

"Well," he thought, "there's only one way to find out."

Tson struggled to place his hand firmly on the computer desk for support and pushed himself up. His legs wobbled, trying to find balance. Before he could fall, he threw himself against the side of the building, gripping it to stay upright.

Dragging his feet, he made his way to investigate the intruder's point of entry, each step a faint scrape across the floor.

As he walked, Tson couldn't help but think about the state he was in. He smirked sarcastically, "Our brave, strong Tson. Whoever broke in better be ready, because based on how things are looking, it's not going to be a pleasant experience for them." The brave, strong Tson was on the case.