DavinaMaddie

In a world where reality itself can be manipulated, Sierra, a brilliant but reluctant hacker, uncovers a terrifying secret: a mind-control system known as the Protocol, designed to alter the fabric of history and reality. As she dives deeper into the system, she discovers that the Protocol isn't just a tool for controlling minds-it's a weapon capable of erasing entire civilizations and rewriting existence. Now, with time running out and the world teetering on the brink of collapse, Sierra must navigate a dangerous game of deception, survival, and rebellion. Alongside a mysterious ally, she faces an impossible choice: to destroy the Protocol and risk being erased from history, or to control it and become the architect of a new, unstable reality. With the fate of humanity hanging in the balance, Sierra must decide if she can truly rewrite the world or if it will rewrite her.Great!

> She was never supposed to exist...

Sierra Vale thought she was just a brilliant hacker—until a rogue program called The Protocol whispers a chilling truth: “You are not Sierra Vale.”

Thrust into a world of secret labs, hidden memories, and a conspiracy that could enslave millions, Sierra must fight not only for survival but to uncover who—or what—she really is.

With enemies closing in and her mind cracking open to terrifying memories, there’s only one mission left:
Take down the Protocol before it takes her.

Your name was just the beginning.

Code name: Starlight

The lab's emergency lights bathed everything in red.

Smoke hissed from ruptured pipes above the cracked cryo-chamber. Inside, Subject Zero blinked slowly, flexing her fingers with eerie precision—like waking muscle memory. She stepped out, barefoot on the frozen steel, no fear, no hesitation.

Sierra stood at the edge of the chamber room's observation deck, staring down at her.

Knox was beside her, hand hovering over his sidearm. "That's… her?"

Sierra nodded once. "That's me—before I became me."

"I knew you wouldn't destroy me," Zero said, her voice echoing through the broken intercom. "Because you need to understand who you are first."

"I already do," Sierra replied, voice firm.

Zero tilted her head. "Then come down here… and prove it."

Knox reached to stop her, but Sierra was already moving. "She won't stop unless I end it myself."

"Then I'm coming with you," he said, gripping his weapon.

"No." Sierra looked back. "This is a war I have to fight alone."

The chamber floor was cold under Sierra's boots as she entered.

Zero stood in the center, hands at her sides. Not armed. Not aggressive.

"You look tired," she said gently. "The Protocol took a lot from you."

"You built the Protocol," Sierra snapped. "You handed them the blueprint."

"I was the blueprint," Zero corrected. "But I wasn't the mind behind it. They created me… just like they shaped you. The only difference? I accepted it. You broke the mold."

Sierra circled slowly, heart pounding.

"You're not here to fight me," Zero said softly. "You're here to see what you could've become if you didn't resist."

"No," Sierra said, drawing her knife. "I'm here to end what you started."

Steel rang against steel. Movements fluid, identical. Every strike Sierra threw, Zero met with perfect counterbalance. It was like fighting a reflection that knew her instincts before she made them.

"Why do you fight yourself?" Zero hissed, grappling with her.

"Because I'm not you," Sierra snarled, slamming her elbow into Zero's jaw and breaking the stalemate.

Zero stumbled, then smiled through blood. "Good. Let's see how much of you is still human."

Above, Knox watched helplessly through the shattered glass.

The chamber lights flickered. Sparks rained from the ceiling.

Sierra and Zero moved like shadows—indistinguishable at times, until Sierra began to shift her rhythm, breaking her own patterns. Be unpredictable. Be human.

That's what Zero didn't have—emotion. Instinct.

Sierra disarmed Zero, pinning her to the floor, blade at her throat.

"You could kill me," Zero whispered. "But if you do, you'll never know the last piece of the truth."

"What truth?" Sierra demanded, panting.

Zero's eyes glittered. "Who gave the order to make you. It wasn't the Protocol. It was someone you trusted."

"I'm done playing games," she said. "You want to live? You tell me everything."

Zero lay on the floor, blood staining her lip. But she smiled wider than ever.

"Then follow me into the dark, Sierra. The truth isn't in this lab. It's in the Citadel."

Sierra turned and walked out, heart pounding.

Knox met her at the door. "What now?"

"We go to the Citadel," she said. "I'm ending this at the source."

Behind her, Zero remained on the floor—watching. Waiting.

Chapter 21: Mirror War.