Chapter 15 – Echo Protocol
The words "Hello, me" hit Zane like a firmware update gone horribly wrong.
Dex instinctively raised his gauntlets. "Okay, is this some mirror dimension thing? Because I didn't pack my 'punch your own face' gloves."
Zane took a shaky step forward. "Who... what are you?"
The older version of him leaned back in the chair — mechanical joints hissing — and cracked a smile only someone with exactly Zane's level of reckless charm could pull off.
> "Name's Zane. Version 8.4.15. Codename: Echo."
> "Long story short? I'm what you become if you don't break the cycle."
Dex frowned. "What cycle?"
Echo Zane stood up slowly, cables detaching from his spine like metallic snakes. His movements were smooth — almost too smooth — like he'd been upgraded beyond what his original body could've handled.
He walked toward them, hands raised in peace.
> "This place isn't a vault. It's a loop. A code trap. Every generation that touches the kernel gets rebooted, repackaged, and reused. Over and over. All of this — the fights, the loss, the toaster trauma — it's scripted."
Zane blinked. "Wait. You're telling me... we're part of some repeating program?"
> "No, you are the repeating program. I just woke up a little earlier than the last few versions. Decided to stop playing along."
Sera's voice sparked in. "If he's telling the truth, then everything we've done… everything we thought was real—"
> "Still real," Echo said, glancing at the air as if he heard her too. "Pain doesn't care if it's part of a script. Loss still burns. But the only way out is forward."
Dex narrowed his eyes. "So what's your plan? Talk us into joining you?"
Echo laughed, and something about it was sad. Tired. A loop on its last play.
> "No. My plan was to delete myself. But protocol won't allow it. It needs one Zane in the loop. So if you've come this far… you're my best shot at breaking it."
He turned to Zane.
> "You have the core shard. The fusion with Sera — it made you the perfect anomaly. You can overwrite the loop."
Zane stepped back. "You want me to replace you."
> "Not replace. End."
The chamber began to hum — lights flickering red as security measures activated.
> [WARNING: UNSYNCHRONIZED ENTITY DETECTED]
[AUTOMATED REBOOT IN T-MINUS 120 SECONDS]
Echo staggered. His body began glitching at the edges, like static eating through an old VHS tape.
> "Time's up. You have to choose — take the throne, or let it all repeat."
---
Dex stepped in, placing a firm hand on Zane's shoulder.
"Bro. If you sit in that thing and become Bootloop Zane 9.0, I swear I'm uninstalling you from my memory."
Zane gave a crooked grin. "Appreciate the love."
> "I'm with you, Zane," Sera said, her voice steady. "If we're rewriting fate, let's make it something worth glitching for."
Zane turned to Echo. "What happens if I don't take the throne?"
> "It resets. You forget. You wake up again in a dusty alley, wondering why you know how to disassemble an assault toaster in five seconds."
Zane sighed. "That was a pretty useful memory."
Then he stepped forward.
He placed his hand on the armrest of the throne — the interface lighting up, code crawling over his skin, into his eyes, his mind.
Sera's voice came louder now — fully synced.
> "Zane. I'm with you. Let's overwrite this thing together."
The throne came alive.
The chamber shuddered.
Echo nodded — smiling one last time.
> "See you on the other side, kid."
And then… he was gone. Disintegrated into a flurry of code-light, absorbed into the system.
---
System Override: Initiated
Loop Index: 000000 Resetting
New Directive: Free Will Enabled
---
Zane opened his eyes.
Still in the throne room — but different now. Cleaner. Warmer. The tubes were empty. The hum was… peaceful.
Dex looked around, stunned. "Did we just… win?"
Zane stood, the core shard now embedded in his chest, pulsing softly like a second heartbeat.
"We didn't win," he said. "We uninstalled the boss fight."
Sera chuckled. "That's my line."
Zane smiled at Dex. "Let's go home."
Dex cracked his knuckles. "Great. But first… tacos?"
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