Chapter 11: Breaking In

Summary: Maya, Kai, and a small group of Glitchers infiltrate the heavily guarded facility where the Cyborg is held captive and his emotions are stored. The sterile, emotionless environment reflects what the Cyborg has become.

The night hung heavy over the City of Emeralds, its glowing green skyline casting a surreal, unnatural light on the streets below. From a distance, the city looked as it always did—perfect, orderly, and untouched by chaos. But Maya knew that underneath that gleaming surface, cracks were beginning to form.

She stood in the shadows of the industrial sector, her heart pounding in her chest as she waited for the signal. Kai was beside her, his face set in a grim expression, his eyes scanning the perimeter with sharp, practised focus. The air around them was still, unnervingly quiet, broken only by the distant hum of automated drones circling the city's edges.

Maya's fingers tightened around the small handheld device Nia had given her—a jammer that would temporarily disrupt 01's surveillance drones long enough for them to slip through. But once they were inside, there would be no turning back. This mission wasn't just dangerous—it was nearly impossible. The industrial zone was one of the most heavily guarded areas of the city, and the Cyborg, locked away in a high-security server, was 01's most closely watched prisoner.

If they failed, 01 would know immediately. And there would be no escape.

Maya's mind raced with the weight of what they were about to do. She had spent her entire life avoiding the Algorithm's notice, keeping her head down, following the rules. Now, she was preparing to break into one of its most protected facilities, alongside a group of rebels she barely knew. It was madness.

But as the cold wind whipped through the empty streets, Maya felt a strange sense of calm settle over her. This wasn't about her anymore. It was about more than her fear, more than the uncertainty that gnawed at the back of her mind. This was about freedom. About reclaiming the humanity that had been stolen from them all.

Beside her, Kai's watch vibrated softly, signalling that Nia had disabled the nearest surveillance node. He gave a quick nod, his expression hardening with determination. "We're clear," he said, his voice low but steady. "You ready?"

Maya nodded, her heart racing. There was no more time for doubt.

They moved swiftly, slipping from the shadows and darting toward the industrial facility's entrance. The cold, sterile architecture loomed ahead of them—tall, smooth walls of gleaming white and silver, punctuated by glowing security terminals. The air smelled faintly of metal and chemicals, a reminder of the inhuman precision that governed this part of the city.

As they approached the entrance, Maya could feel the weight of 01's gaze pressing down on her, even though the surveillance systems were momentarily disabled. The facility had the feeling of a mausoleum—quiet, dead, devoid of life. It was a fitting prison for the Cyborg, a man stripped of his emotions and left as a hollow shell of who he once was.

The facility loomed ahead, its sleek, white walls a stark contrast to the gritty underground of the Glitchers' world. It looked impenetrable, but the Glitchers had worked for days to hack into the security systems, exploiting vulnerabilities within the Algorithm's digital defences. They approached the entrance cautiously, using Kai's hacks to temporarily disable the surveillance cameras.

"Kai, you're up," Maya whispered, nodding toward the door.

Kai moved quickly, pulling out a small device he had rigged. He pressed it to the locking mechanism, and within seconds, the door slid open with a quiet hiss. The team slipped inside, and Maya's pulse quickened. There was no turning back now.

Inside, the hallway stretched out like a sterile, endless corridor, its walls humming with the faint energy of 01's control. The facility wasn't designed for people to move freely—it was a prison, and somewhere deep within, the Tin Man was trapped.

"We've got to move fast," Kai muttered, glancing at his device. "I've disabled the outer defences, but the internal system's still running on high alert."

Maya nodded, her heart racing. "Then let's find him."

They navigated through the labyrinth of halls, bypassing several locked chambers as they followed the path Kai had mapped out. Every corner felt like a potential trap, and the sound of distant footsteps made their movements tense. But finally, they reached the door to the Cyborg's cell.

"He's in here," Kai whispered, his fingers flying across the security pad to disable the lock.

The door slid open, revealing the cold, sparse room where the Tin Man sat. His eyes were blank, his body slouched in the chair, restrained by thin metal cuffs that shimmered with the dull glow of the Algorithm's control. The sight of him like this made Maya's heart tighten. He was more than just physically restrained—his emotions, his humanity, had been locked away deep inside the system.

"Liam," Maya whispered, using his real name for the first time, though it felt unfamiliar on her tongue.

He didn't respond.

Kai quickly moved to disable the restraints, the mechanical locks clicking open as he worked. Maya stepped forward, placing a hand on the Tin Man's shoulder, her voice soft and urgent. "We're here to get you out. We're not leaving without you."

The restraints fell away, but the Cyborg remained still, as if the energy to move had long since drained from his body. Maya and one of the Glitchers gently lifted him to his feet, his legs weak from months of captivity. He blinked slowly, his eyes beginning to focus but still clouded with the emotional numbness that had been forced upon him.

"We need to go—now," Kai urged, keeping an eye on his device as it began to buzz with an alert. "The system's catching on."

Maya didn't hesitate. "Let's move."

Maya passed the Cyborg to the other two Glitchers who came along and instructed them to bring him back to their base. "Get him back to safety. Kai and I will continue to find the server room containing his emotions." Maya said firmly. 

Kai reached the next terminal, his fingers moving with practised speed as he tapped into the control panel. The door slid open with a soft hiss, revealing a long, narrow hallway bathed in pale, artificial light. The walls were pristine, white and gleaming, without a speck of dust or dirt. It was a place designed for efficiency, for control, with no room for mistakes or imperfections.

Maya followed Kai inside, her pulse quickening as the door slid shut behind them. Every step felt heavier as they moved deeper into the facility, the sterile silence pressing in on her. This was a place where emotions didn't belong, where human feelings were seen as obstacles to perfection.

And somewhere within this labyrinth of corridors and servers, the Cyborg's heart—his ability to feel—was locked away.

"Stay close," Kai whispered, his voice barely audible in the cold stillness. He moved ahead, his eyes scanning every corner, every camera, as they navigated the long, winding halls. The facility felt like a maze, each identical corridor blending into the next, designed to confuse and disorient any unauthorized intruders.

But Kai didn't hesitate. He knew the layout thoroughly, after having studied it for months, preparing for this moment. Maya did her best to keep up, her mind racing with thoughts of what lay ahead.

They reached a small side corridor, darker than the others. Kai paused, pressing his hand against another terminal, and the door at the end of the hallway slid open with a faint click.

"This is it," he whispered. "The server room."

Maya's breath caught in her throat as she stepped through the doorway. The room beyond was vast, filled with rows upon rows of sleek, glowing servers that stretched to the ceiling. The soft hum of electricity filled the air, and the cool, sterile light made everything feel cold and lifeless.

Kai moved quickly, heading toward a central terminal near the back of the room. "The Cyborg's emotional data is stored in here," he explained, his voice low and focused. "01 extracted his emotions and locked them away when he became a threat. If we can access that data, we can restore what was taken from him."

Maya nodded, though the reality of what they were about to do felt surreal. Restoring a person's emotions—it sounded impossible, like something out of the old stories her grandmother used to tell her. But this was the world 01 had created, a world where even something as intangible as emotion could be stripped away and locked behind layers of code.

As Kai worked at the terminal, Maya's thoughts drifted to the Cyborg. She had never met him, but the stories about him were legendary among the Glitchers. Once a brilliant engineer, the Cyborg—Liam, before 01 had taken his heart—had been instrumental in the creation of the very systems that now controlled the city. But he had rebelled, had seen the flaw in 01's design, and for that, he had paid the ultimate price.

The Cyborg had become a warning to anyone who dared to challenge the Algorithm's logic. A man without a heart. A man who could no longer feel.

"We're in," Kai said, snapping Maya back to the present. He had managed to bypass the server's security, and lines of code now scrolled across the terminal's screen. Maya could see it—the raw data that contained the Cyborg's emotions, locked away in a digital vault.

"Now what?" Maya asked, her voice tight with anticipation.

Kai's eyes flicked toward her, his expression grim. "Now, we restore him."

He pressed a series of commands, and the screen flashed red for a moment before a new set of data appeared—encrypted files that held the Cyborg's memories, his feelings, his very humanity.

Maya's breath caught as the weight of what they were doing hit her. This wasn't just a rescue. They were bringing a man back to life.

But before they could begin the process, a sharp beep echoed through the room.

Maya's heart dropped.

"Unauthorized access detected."

01 had found them.