PIECE

"Stick together," Razor warned. "No telling what's still active here."

The Hollow Zones. A decaying graveyard of abandoned research outposts and half-sunken megastructures.

The air hummed with the static of malfunctioning tech, and every shadow seemed to flicker with something unseen. Razor and Blaze led the way, their steps careful over unstable terrain.

Myst trailed behind with Echo and Nyx, her gaze shifting uneasily. Something about this place knocking at the walls of her mind. A cold familiarity.

"A lot of old-world data here. Might be worth something." Cipher was already sifting through wreckage, his Xen-Link scanning for anything salvageable.

Blaze, on the other hand, was more interested in anything weaponizable. He kicked open a rusted supply case, revealing energy cells and dismantled pulse rifles. "Jackpot."

Everyone else just scanned their surroundings. Not sure if there's some daily things that's salvageable. They called the place, Wraith Sector. A research facility and laboratory before it turned into this old and rusted—ghostly sector.

Then, Myst's vision blurred. A pulse of static crackled in her ears.

A sudden ping echoed through the ruins.

Cipher turned sharply. "That wasn't me."

All of their Xen-Links activated on its own, its corrupted interface spasming with unreadable text. As the distorted feed stabilized, a voice distorted through their devices, along with a flickering holoscreen by a workstation.

"Initiating Subject Synchronization... Neural Link Restored."

Myst barely had time to react before the world around her fractured.

"Blue Rose is stabilizing."

She was strapped to a metal table, sterile lights blinding her.

The voices were distant but growing clearer. Scientists in sleek exo-suits moved in her periphery. Machines buzzed; wires coiled around her like vines.

"Neural threshold increased. Begin next sequence."

A cold sensation bloomed at the back of her neck. Then—pain. A surge of electric fire coursed through her body, forcing a choked gasp from her lips.

To her right, another figure. Restraints digging into their arms. Their head slumped forward, dark hair masking their face.

"Subject: Purple Thorn. Resistance levels unstable. Proceeding with override."

Myst's breath hitched.

A violent jolt, and the scene collapsed in on itself.

She gasped, staggering back into reality. The holoscreen flickered, its feed severed. Nyx barely caught her before she hit the ground.

"Myst! Talk to me."

Her pulse was racing, her hands trembling. She struggled to steady her breathing, the memory burning into her skull.

"I saw—" Her voice was hoarse. "Purple Thorn. They were there."

Silence fell over The Clan.

"So they were real," Echo murmured, eyes dark with thought. "And they were an experiment too."

Blaze clenched his jaw. "This just confirmed it—whatever the Government did to you, they did to them. And they didn't want either of you to survive."

Razor exhaled sharply. "We need to find them before someone else does."

A distorted voice cut through the silence.

"We were right. She's alive."

Everyone's head snapped up. Shadows moved in the distance—tall figures, the faint glow of cybernetic implants flickering beneath their hoods. The Ascended.

Blaze was the first to react, reaching for his weapon, but Cipher swore under his breath. "We need to move. Now."

Myst tried to steady herself, but her body felt heavy—like static was crawling under her skin, dulling her senses. The flashback took a big toll on her, and she knew she wouldn't be able to tap into whatever they need to escape.

"You've seen it, haven't you?" One of the Ascended stepped forward, a sleek cybernetic halo pulsing faintly at the base of his neck. His voice was eerily calm. "You should know what you are now."

He gazed at Myst with a hunger—greedy, insatiable—convinced she was the key to the power they craved.

Razor didn't wait. "Get her out of here!"

Blaze fired first, forcing the Ascended to scatter. Cipher launched a data scramble, disrupting their systems for a brief window.

That window was all they had.

Nyx pulled Myst to her feet, half-dragging her while everyone follows behind them to cover fire. The Clan moved as one, slipping through the ruins, barely staying ahead of the pursuing figures.

As they neared the exit, the Ascended's distorted voices rang out through their Xen-Links:

"There's nowhere left to run, Blue Rose."

The signal cut out, but the words stuck to Myst like a clinging ghost.

By the time The Clan vanished into the depths of the Hollow Zones, Myst clutched her racing heart, the Ascended's words echoing in her skull.

They didn't just find her. They had been waiting for her.