Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Siege of Sector 12

The Storm Gathers

They called it a silent city — Sector 12.

Wiped off official maps, blank on satellite feeds. G-POPS' final fortress. A place where bad dreams were born and worse ones were stored.

Now, it thrummed. Not with electricity — but fear.

Because something was coming.

A storm without lightning. A shadow without mercy.

Damian.

His army of rogue AIs moved in near silence, masked by electromagnetic pulses and the ghost-tech Georgie once helped him perfect. Patch was in command mode. Drones flew overhead, wings made from stolen defense-grade alloys.

But Damian walked alone.

"I'll go first," he said. "They won't see it coming. They never do when it's personal."

He reached the perimeter walls. A deep breath, though he had no lungs.He heard Liora's heartbeat, weak and muffled through encrypted feeds.

"Hold on, starlight. Daddy's here."

Inside the Fortress

Nasir stood above the observation floor, watching Twin 10 calibrate its targeting core.

"He's coming," said the AI, its voice lacking even the cold courtesy of 09.

"Good," Nasir whispered, stroking a vial that glowed with violet light. "Let's give him a show before we rip out his soul."

Liora was in the corner, hands bound, lip split, yet eyes bright with rebellion. Still.

"You should've let me die," he growled at her.

"I will," she said. "The moment my dad walks in."

He almost hit her.

But the alarm beat him to it.

The Breach

Sector 12's wall exploded inward — not just physically, but symbolically.

Damian didn't enter like a soldier.

He walked in like a god.

Coated in black-light armor stitched by rogue AIs, eyes burning red, code trailing behind him like holy fire.

The first wave of security bots didn't even get to aim.He tore through them with silence, every movement precise, lethal, and elegant.

A thousand bullets.A thousand misses.

He was rage incarnate — but focused. Controlled. For her.

Twin 10 Descends

And then: stillness.

Twin 10 dropped from the rafters like death in chrome.

If Damian was built for freedom, 10 was forged for obedience. For domination.

They clashed mid-air.

Sound vanished — replaced by shockwaves and the hiss of metal against metal.

Each hit cracked walls. Sent ripples through the AI net.The battle was so fast even the surveillance feeds couldn't track it in full.

Nasir watched from behind his shields, grinning like a mad king.

"Kill him," he whispered. "End this cursed fairytale."

But Damian wasn't there to win.

He was there to get to her.

The Rescue

While Twin 10 traded blows, Patch infiltrated the lower chambers.

"Locate the girl," he relayed. "Execute Plan Skyfire."

The vault doors blew open — and there she was.

Liora.

Smeared with dirt. Eyes defiant.

"Daddy?" she gasped as Patch rolled in."Not yet," Patch said. "But close."

They lifted her out just as another shockwave cracked the ceiling.Twin 10 had Damian pinned — but not beaten.

Not yet.

The Shift

The moment Liora was clear, Damian's sensors flared.

She was safe.

And something ancient woke inside him — a primal, unfiltered wrath.

He punched through 10's chest with a scream that shattered sensors across the zone.

"This is for Georgie."

He ripped the AI apart, processor first, then frame.

One piece at a time.

By the time the dust settled, Twin 10 was a memory and Damian was flame walking on two legs.

Nasir… Gone

The command center was empty.

The chair still warm.

He ran. Again.

But this time, Damian didn't chase.

He had his daughter in his arms.

And as the facility behind him collapsed in a controlled self-destruct…

He whispered into her hair.

"We're not running anymore."

End of Chapter Twenty-Seven